XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors
by PRAKNASTY
Summary: The aliens have returned and struck before anything could be done to stop them. Now on the run and marked as traitors, the XCOM project looks to retake Earth with the help of soldiers from the first war. Can they do it? Find out inside. Continuation of "XCOM: Earth's Guarding Saviors". #TheNastyOne
1. This is the World We Live in Now

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!  
**

 **What's up everyone? I'm so stoked that I finally got XCOM 2 downloaded that I decided to make an unofficial sequel to "XCOM: Earth's Guarding Saviors", which was my first story on this site. Now I say unofficial, because FanFiction has a policy regarding no sequels so I'm not calling this a sequel more of a continuation. This story follows where the other one left off, which means that I will need to tweak some things to make this story fit my timeline. Also, not all of the soldiers from the original will be returning namely Renegade, Prophet, Dubois, Shipman, DOA, and Black Widow for various reasons. Renegade and Prophet are officially retired so they will not be seen in the story, DOA and Black Widow will be in the story but not serving as they have children to look after, and the others' fates will be revealed later.**

 **To fill these slots, I will be accepting some OC's from you guys if you so choose to submit them, however if I don't receive them by the time I post Chapter 3 then I'll just fill in the holes with my own characters. Please submit them via PM to me as I don't want to have to read through some reviews to find them. All I need is some basic information like Name, Age, Height, Ethnicity, Hometown, Branch of Service if any, Preferred Specialization, Background, and Personality. (I'm accepting two Supports (Specialists). All accepted OC's are on my profile along with credit to the people whom submitted them.).**

 **One last thing is that I will alert people when I'm about to reveal plot to XCOM 2, so read at your own risk! I think that's everything I wanted to say, so without further ado let's kick this sucker off!**

 **Disclaimer (This is the only one!): I own none of the characters or storyline from XCOM 2, that belongs to Firaxis. The only thing I own are the characters from "XCOM: Earth's Guarding Saviors" and some backstory. I also don't own any OC's that will appear in the story, those belong to the authors who send them in.**

 **Chapter 1: This is the World We Live In Now**

* * *

== Unknown Location ==

Walking along a crowded walkway in the middle of New India, a Hispanic male that looked to be from Argentina walked around aimlessly as he frowned at the happenings around him. Everywhere he looked he saw symbols of ADVENT and how they were proclaiming the peace that had finally been achieved between the Ravagers and Humans ten years ago to the day. They had struck without warning and routed the human militaries within a matter of months since XCOM had been disbanded and had no time to reform. Now the entire world was enslaved by this corporation that proclaimed peace and stability but at the same time committed genetic atrocities by making hybrid soldiers composed of both human and alien DNA. The remnants of XCOM had been labeled traitors and scattered to the winds to avoid capture and certain death, some were luckier than others.

 _'So many lives have been lost, I'm just thankful that some of us managed to regroup and band together to face this common enemy.'_ thought the male as he took off his beanie to reveal a buzz-cut of black hair and looking closely you could see his ever present moustache that was as thick as it was back in his XCOM service. The male was none other than Jesus "Smokey" Rodriguez the original leader of Strike One that has since be classified as a traitors by the ADVENT corporation and marked for death upon capture. Smokey had managed to get DOA and Jesus Jr. to safety with Bradford and his team of soldiers before things got too bad. They'd recently discovered an abandoned alien ship that could be used as a mobile home base of sorts and they just needed an power source to get it up and running again.

Ducking into an alley way, Smokey hid himself from sight in the shadows caused by the setting sun and waited for nightfall to occur. Tonight was the night that XCOM would strike back against ADVENT and he'd volunteered to provide support for the attack when the time came. Finding a nice hidden spot behind a dumpster, Smokey sat down and let his thoughts run free as he thought back to all the people that had been lost since ADVENT's takeover.

Dubois and Shipman had both died when their Special Ops unit originally found the hidden alien cell on Earth that had signaled the second wave of Ravagers to take the planet. They never stood a chance as they thought it was a simple terrorist cell, Deadeye and Lockdown still haven't recovered from it.

Dr. Vahlen had disappeared from the world view shortly after the war, no doubt taken by the ADVENT to keep her from helping the resistance. Dr. Shen had managed to escape away from the forces sent to capture him with his daughter, Dr. An-Yi "Lilly" Shen. They both had joined up with Bradford and helped him return the resistance to a fighting force with new technology and weapons. They'd both been working tirelessly on getting the ship back in working order before Shen passed away peacefully in his sleep a few weeks ago, Lilly volunteered to take up her father's place as Chief Engineer to continue his legacy within XCOM.

Road Block and Heavy Duty were both captured and re-enslaved into the Ravagers' forces by ADVENT when their community was raided. They did manage to take out 95% of the attacking force before running out of ammo and explosives.

Both Renegade and Prophet had gone dark a few weeks ago and hadn't been heard from since. They were content with helping XCOM from the outside by going undercover at press conferences to gain intel on what ADVENT's plans were because they didn't want to go back to fighting another war again, they had both seen enough bloodshed for a lifetime. They were discovered during one of ADVENT's press conferences regarding the tenth anniversary of Unification Day as they called it. Both went underground to avoid being captured, but did manage to give the intel needed for the mission that was going to be undertaken tonight.

His loving wife, DOA, had stated she didn't want both of them to go fighting in another war and risking Jesus Jr. growing up without parents, which he respected and told her that she didn't have to fight but he wanted to. She had respected his decision and was currently back at the Avenger waiting for him to return.

The last person that was lost was the Commander. He had been captured by the ADVENT forces shortly after the invasion began when he tried to link up with Bradford. The teams sent to his house in Scottsdale, Arizona found a destroyed home with the bodies of aliens littering the grounds, but no sign of the Commander. It was assumed that he'd been taken because of this fact and the intel from Renegade and Prophet confirmed the team's suspicion. That was the reason they were here tonight, they were going to free the Commander from captivity. With him at the helm, there was a better chance that they'd win this war.

At the briefing this morning, Smokey had met the other soldiers that would be going on this mission with him. They were Bradford himself, Jane Kelly, Peter Osei, and Ana Garcia. Bradford had aged considerably after the war, the years of being on the run and the constant stress of keeping the resistance together made him appear to be in his mid fifties when he was only 45. He'd taken on the nickname "Central" as a homage to his role back with the original XCOM. Jane Kelly was a 28 year old American who was on Bradford's security detail back when the invasion began, she volunteered to be a part of the project and left with him when he fled from his would be captors.

Peter Osei and Ana Garcia were both recent additions to the resistance as they joined up when they caught wind of a potential overthrow of the alien rule. Osei was 25 and from Nigeria, while Ana was 23 and from Venezuela. Both were eager to fight as they felt the aliens had it coming to them with their atrocities at making hybrid soldiers.

The team had agreed on the plan that Bradford and Kelly would cause a diversion while Osei and Garcia would secure the facility for their arrival. Smokey was purely there to provide support in case anything went wrong. He would meet up with them, once the diversion was set by Bradford. Now all he had to do was kill some time before the eventual fireworks began.

* * *

== Three Hours Later == (Spoilers ahead!)

Darkness had completely fallen over the area, as Central and Kelly approached their target for their planned diversion. Ahead was an ADVENT security checkpoint that was perfect for what they planned to do, knowing that once the facility came under siege ADVENT would send all nearby forces to take it back. Destroying the checkpoint would cause confusion and divert attention here before they discovered that the facility was under attack hopefully buying them enough time to get out unnoticed. Central would approach the checkpoint as a civilian and enter the metal scanners which would go off since he had his assault rifle hidden under his trench coat, once preoccupied with him Kelly could move in and plant explosives on their patrol vehicle which should kill them all.

Looking up, Central noticed that the checkpoint was up ahead. He was the next person in line to go through the scanner. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Kelly was in position with the explosives.

 _'Here goes nothing.'_ thought Central as he walked through the scanner which immediately went off as planned. The troopers came over and asked him in their garbled language if he was planning an attack. Taking his silence as an admission of guilt, the trooper struck Central across the face and sent him to the ground as they all raised their plasma rifles at him and prepared to fire.

Kelly saw the commotion and quickly approached the vehicle and went about placing the X4 explosives on the vehicle's side closest to the troopers. Setting the explosives to live, she quickly walked away and awaited Central's order to blow it.

"Now! Do it!" said Central. Kelly wasted no time and pressed the detonator in her right hand which set off the explosives that immediately incinerated all the troopers, except the one closest to Central that had raised its rifle at him. The trooper was sent flying from the shockwave and landed in a heap against the barriers erected earlier along the sides of the scanner. Central quickly recovered and pulled out his upgraded M4A1 assault rifle and dispatched the trooper with five shots to the head before regrouping with Kelly up the road.

"Crashers the mission is a go!"

* * *

== With Osei and Garcia ==

Both of the soldiers had taken up a raised position against the three ADVENT troopers that were remaining behind to guard the facility. The other three had gone to support the checkpoint.

"I thought you'd never say so sir. Opening fire!" exclaimed Osei as he dispatched the trooper on the far left, while Garcia hit the trooper on the far right.

The lone remaining trooper signaled for more reinforcements, but was quickly dispatched by a charging Garcia who took cover behind a car in front of the facility. With the area secure the two Crashers moved to defensive positions as they awaited support.

* * *

== With Smokey ==

Smokey heard the explosion in the distance, and knew that was his cue to move, breaking from cover he charged up the walkway to the intersection where he was to meet Central and Kelly. Hearing someone approaching, he took cover behind an armored truck and awaited to see who it was. Peeking out, he spotted an Advent officer and two troopers that were coming from the direction of the facility. Both enemy types were similar in height, armor type, and weapons but the one difference was that officers had red armor while troopers wore standard black armor. Also officers had what appeared to be a red scarf with the ADVENT symbol on it.

Deciding to focus his attention on the officer, Smokey lined up his assault rifle and fired hitting the officer dead center of his face mask. No way was he getting up from this one. The two troopers looked everywhere to find the threat, but were quickly dispatched by two simultaneous rifle blasts from Smokey's right. Turning his head in that direction he nodded at the two before the group headed off to support the Crashers.

* * *

== With Osei ==

Things had gone from okay to bad in a short amount of time. One minute both he and Garcia were discussing about their potential specializations, and the next she's laying on the ground dead with holes in her armor and body from multiple plasma rounds. Shaking off his surprise, he was valiantly holding the line, but he was quickly going to need to reload soon.

"CRASHER 2 IS DOWN! I NEED IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE!" shouted Osei as he took out one of the two troopers that had hit his right flank. He raised his rifle to fire again, but heard a sound that made his heart drop.

Click. Click.

"Shit! Need ammo!"

Fumbling with the clip on his belt, Osei finally got it into his rifle, and as he looked up he saw a plasma rifle barrel pointed directly at his face. Closing his eyes, he waited for the shots that never came.

BAM! BAM! BAM! CRASH!

Hearing the sounds in rapid succession, he looked up to see the trooper's body on the ground with three holes from a pistol in its body and he turned to see Smokey standing behind him with Garcia's body over his shoulder. He also noticed Kelly offering him a hand to get up, accepting it he stood up and received some ammo from Smokey.

"You okay kid?"

"Yeah I'll be fine. Don't you need the ammo though?"

"Nah, I'll just use my pistol, besides it kind of hard to shoot a rifle one handed. Come on let's go."

"I'm in!" shouted Kelly as they looked inside to see that she had hacked the stasis containment unit in the middle of the room.

"This is definitely the right place!" exclaimed Central as he broke the glass and grabbed the Commander's body as it fell forward and threw him over his shoulder.

"We're leaving now! Shit! ADVENT is here!"

Looking out front, the group saw that ADVENT had landed out in front of the facility with six more troops coming to take it back.

"Kelly blow a hole in the rear wall, we'll go out the back!" ordered Smokey as he and Osei started gunning down troops that charged their position.

Kelly chucked a grenade that blew the rear wall apart, and then tossed the blue smoke grenade that signaled their Skyranger Mk. 2 call sign Firebrand to provide immediate pickup. With the aircraft in place, the four started their sprint to the pickup zone with ADVENT hot on their heels. Central received a wound to his shoulder, but he kept charging and made it to the zone and was picked up via fast rope with the Commander in tow. Kelly went next, and made it to the aircraft unscathed as she grabbed the rope and was pulled up next. Smokey and Osei were both running hard having both run out of ammo, both were in the zone and reaching for the ropes when suddenly Osei was slammed into Smokey with blood flowing from his right temple. One of the troopers got lucky and struck the young man down instantly just moments from escape. Reacting quickly, Smokey slung his body over his other shoulder and grabbed the rope before being pulled up to the awaiting aircraft with the others.

* * *

== On the Skyranger ==

As the aircraft quickly left the area, Kelly looked over and saw the two bodies and shook her head at the senseless loss of life. It was just another two names on a long list of names that had already fallen at ADVENT's hands.

"Do you think things will get easier Smokey?" she asked the grizzled veteran who was lost in his own thoughts.

"I don't know Kelly. All we can do is survive one day at a time and hope that with the Commander back we can take Earth back. This is the way the world is now, and we have to survive as best we can." replied Smokey as he took his beanie off and ran his hand through his hair.

Kelly frowned at that as she took her black baseball cap off and pulled her brunette hair free of its ponytail allowing it to hang down around her. She thought about his words before responding.

"I guess you're right, but this is a good first step right?" she said smiling at him. She was right it was the first big victory for the XCOM resistance in a while.

"Yes it is." replied Smokey smiling as he went back to thinking about his wife and child back at the base awaiting his return.

 _'I'm coming home guys.'_

* * *

 **AN: And that's a wrap on the tutorial mission from XCOM 2. Smokey is back and seems to be tired of the death around him but is still willing to fight knowing he has a family to protect. Next chapter will focus on reviving the Commander, as well as the first mission Operation Gate Crasher which is the mission given to you if you forgo the tutorial mission. When will the other members of Strike One and Two appear? How will the Commander react to being back amongst the resistance? Find out next time on "XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors"! Also, please remember to follow, favorite, and review to show your support. Hearing from you guys really motivates me to write these stories from my own creative mind. Until next time this is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **-PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	2. Here's XCOM!

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!**

 **Hey everyone! Sorry about the gap between chapters but life, (and XCOM 2), got in the way of me actually writing anything for this story. But I'm back here with the second installment of this adventure. Before we begin I'd like to thank everyone for their support towards this story. This is by far my most popular story based off of views for the first chapter alone so it's encouraging for me to continue writing. Also, I've accepted some OC's which you'll find on the bottom of my profile page if you were wondering whom I've accepted. I'm still looking for two Specialists (Supports) so keep sending them in before next chapter is posted. Anyway let's get on with the story.**

 **Chapter 2: Here's XCOM!**

* * *

== Back at the Avenger ==

The Avenger was in total chaos as news of the Commander's return started a whirlwind of activity amongst the people preparing for his arrival. The soldiers were ecstatic that their leader would be back, while Dr. Tygan and Dr. Shen were both prepping for his immediate surgery. Bradford had discovered a chip that was implanted in his skull that was likely an ADVENT probe that would need to be removed upon arrival in case it was a tracking device.

When the Skyranger touched down, Bradford picked up the Commander and immediately headed for the Research Lab where Tygan and Shen were waiting. Smokey and Kelly each picked up one of their dead comrades and brought them to the armory to remove their weapons and armor for usage by the remaining soldiers, before they were to bury the bodies outside the ship.

* * *

== In the Research Lab ==

Bradford rushed in and immediately dropped the Commander onto a waiting examination table that was hastily set up only a few minutes prior.

"Easy! We may have a decade and a half of atrophy to deal with!" exclaimed Tygan as he went about getting the probe removal instrument ready. Dr. Richard Tygan grew up on the streets of Chicago, Illinois and stood out early in life with his enhanced knowledge of the world around him. Excelling in school, he graduated with a doctorate in Biochemistry from Chicago University and was employed by ADVENT at one of their earliest Gene Therapy clinics. Tygan eventually grew concerned with the aliens' application of his work to exert control over the human population and fled to the Resistance movement five years ago to head the Research division. Tygan stands at 6' 2'' and is slightly muscled, dressed in a white and green lab coat over an olive green dress shirt and black tie with black slacks and black dress shoes. Tygan is dark-skinned with a pair of black horn-rimmed glasses and has a shaved head which shows a scar near the base of his skull.

"Are you sure this procedure will work Tygan?" asked Bradford as he applied pressure to his shoulder wound with gauze.

"Normally I'd have them hooked up to pain meds and have them fully asleep, but we'll have to make due."

"Hang in there Commander!" said Shen as she removed the suit that the Commander was trapped in.

"Moving for chip extraction." stated Tygan as he unleashed the probe removal device and grabbed onto the chip implanted into the Commander's frontal lobe. The device came out with a little bit of force as he looked at it in awe. Placing it into a containment device for now, he pulled out his flashlight and examined the Commander's eyes to see if his vitals had stabilized.

"Pupil activity is normal, vitals are stable, surgery complete." Said Tygan to the others as they released the collective breath they were holding.

"Welcome back Commander." said Bradford as he saw the Commander pass out from the exhaustion he was no doubt experiencing from regaining control of his mind.

"I'll take him to his room. You two rest and get ready. Once he's up and about he'll look to get this war going."

* * *

== A Few Hours Later ==

The Commander awoke with a splitting headache as he looked around to discover that he was in a living space of some kind that wasn't the tube he had been kept in for the past fifteen years. Trying to sit up too quickly, he was met with a wave of pain that caused him to groan out as he fell back on the bed. His movements awoke Bradford who'd passed out shortly after receiving treatment for his wound and came back to watch over the Commander.

"Easy sir, you've been in that tube for fifteen years so it'll be difficult to move for a bit."

"John! Nice to see you again, where are we?" asked the Commander as he instantly recognized his former subordinate from the alien war days.

"We're aboard the Avenger Commander. It's an alien ship that Dr. Shen and his daughter have converted into a mobile base of sorts. We're just missing a power source and we can begin flying around the world to help the resistance forces."

"Impressive! Remind me to thank Shen when I see him again…" he stopped when he saw Bradford's downtrodden expression.

"Shen passed away a few weeks ago sir. His daughter has taken over the Engineering team to carry on his legacy. Dr. Vahlen went missing shortly after the reinvasion and hasn't been seen since. She's been replaced by Dr. Tygan whose defected from ADVENT to help our cause."

Seeing the look of sadness on the Commander's face, Bradford chose to give him a few minutes to deal with the news.

"I'll give you a few minutes to go through the Archives and get reacquainted with the situation. Come to the bridge when you are ready sir. It's good to have you back Commander."

* * *

== Ten Minutes Later ==

The Commander had grieved over the loss of his friends, but knew he had a job to do and would do it to the best of his ability for his fallen friends' sakes. Arriving at the Bridge, he entered the room only for the alarm to sound off about an unauthorized presence.

"Sorry sir, just a moment. Computer; initiate Echo protocol."

The alarm suddenly stopped, and the flashing red lights disappear as a now cheerful female voice says:

"Transfer of command acknowledged. Welcome aboard Commander."

"I wish that was more ceremonial, but it's the best we can do on short notice." stated Bradford as he led the Commander over to the Geoscape to view where they were. It seemed that at the current moment the base was located in what ADVENT had dubbed New Mexico, (it's just Mexico), and was low on supplies and manpower for the Engineering and Research divisions.

"Seems like a dire situation we're in. I think I can manage with this though Bradford."

"I did the best I could over the years sir, but it can be taxing on a person trying to coordinate a bunch of spread out units all over the world." sighed Bradford as he pulled a flask from his back pocket and took a drink of what appeared to be whiskey from the Commander's brief whiff of it.

"You did the best you could John. Now relax and let me take over from here."

"Roger that sir."

"Any operations ongoing right now as we speak?"

"Yes we have one headed towards Omaha, Nebraska call sign Gatecrasher."

"Patch me through to them so I can assume command."

"You heard the man bring up the links."

Waiting for a few moments, the doors behind them opened and Dr. Shen, Dr. Tygan, Smokey, and Kelly all entered one after the other and were surprised to see the Commander already up and about.

"Commander it's good to see you up and about already. It appears the operation was a complete success. Dr. Richard Tygan, at your service." said the Research department's leader as he shook the Commander's hand.

"Yes it was. A pleasure to meet you doctor. I take it you're eager to begin work on a few projects." inquired the Commander as he took in the young doctor.

"Absolutely sir, just say the word and I'll begin work immediately."

"In due time Tygan." said the Commander as he took in the next person who was dressed in an orange shirt with the XCOM logo on it, covered by a green vest as well as a pair of black cargo pants and black and orange sneakers. She also wore a pair of black nano-fiber sleeves that covered the bottom halves of her arms, and had the saying "Bellator In Machina" tattooed on her upper right arm with a skull tattooed under it. (Just Google the images for XCOM: Enemy within it's the Mech's motto.) She also had her black hair stylized in a bob with a part on her left side and had her bangs fall across her forehead to her right. She stood at 5' 10''.

"I presume you to be Dr. Shen's daughter, Lily. We met while you were still a teenager."

"Good memory Commander. Dad told me so much about you, and I want to do my best to make the both of you proud."

"I'm sure you will Shen." replied the Commander as he looked to the next person in line, which was Kelly. (Look for her description in the first chapter.)

"I'm not sure we've met soldier."

"We probably haven't. I'm Jane Kelly I was a part of Bradford's security detail when he returned to the President's War Advisor team. I was also a member of the team that rescued you earlier."

"Thank you for the assist in rescuing me. Bradford informed me that you were the only survivor besides him and Smokey. For that you will be promoted to Squaddie. Do you have an idea of what class you'd be best in?"

"I'm more suited for close combat so being a Ranger seems like a logical choice for me sir."

"Excellent I'll make the paperwork reflect your decision." said the Commander as he looked towards the last person who entered the room. Said person was showing his age as he was 42 years of age with his wrinkled tan skin and the diagonal scar running the right side of his face from the top of his nose, past his eye and to his cheek bone.

"Smokey my old friend, how have you been?"

"Good sir. It's a relief to see you back at the helm. We thought we'd lost you when they took you all those years ago."

"Well I'm back and it's time to send a message to the utopia that is ADVENT. And it's going to say 'Here's XCOM!' Are you going to help us lead the new generation of fighters against the alien forces one more time Smokey?"

"Yes sir. I'm ready to make this dream a reality."

"Excellent! I'm promoting you back to Squaddie and you can go back to being the new improved Grenadier class just like old times."

"Thank you sir, let's get started."

"Speaking of getting started, the other squad is patched in and ready to roll Commander." said Bradford as he jumped back into the conversation.

"Thank you Bradford. Put me on screen."

* * *

== On the Skyranger (Somewhere over "The Slums" Omaha, Nebraska, USA) ==

Firebrand was currently approaching the target site for XCOM's reemergence into the public eye as they planned to destroy a statue signifying the peaceful alliance between ADVENT and the aliens. The squad chosen for this mission was comprised of four veterans of the first war against the aliens. Two of them were former members of Bravo Squad before being folded into strike One, while the other two were the last surviving members of Strike Two. In order the four were identified as Benjamin "Ice" Watson, Sarah "Dozer" Watson nee Kauffman, Isabella "Lockdown" Maroni, and Bernard "Deadeye" Dickey.

Watson was still the most unlikely XCOM soldier as he looked more like a doctor than a soldier. Watson stands at 5' 9'' with spiked up short Brown hair, and had black horn-rimmed glasses that made him look like Rivers Cuomo; the lead singer from Weezer. Watson had taken his old XCOM gear and died it burnt orange in honor of the Texas Longhorns whom won the College World Series the year after the first war ended. Watson had continued his career in medicine and got his doctorate before being employed as a cardiac surgeon. He had married Kauffman shortly after the war and had disappeared to rejoin the resistance when the ADVENT coalition was formed.

Kauffman was still the blonde-haired beauty she was back from the first war. Her soft blond hair was hung in a loose ponytail that allowed her bangs to frame her face. She was the same height as Watson, and had pursued a career in architecture after the war designing the reconstruction of several major cities in Germany. She also had joined Watson when the ADVENT coalition came around and sought out Bradford's resistance. She had died her old uniform solid gray and had smeared eye black around her face making her appear demonic to her opponents as she gunned them down without care.

The two former members of Strike two had lost their usually happy demeanors after the surprise attack that claimed their former squadmates and had severely changed them from how their friends knew them. Maroni had gone from a carefree leader to an intense combat junkie who was always ready for the next engagement. She stood at 5' 7'' with her brown hair covered by a ranger hood and a gray ball cap that shrouded her face. Maroni had died her new armor red and green after her native country's flag, Italy, and was ready to whip some alien ass. She had gone rogue after the botched Special Ops mission and had linked up with Bradford once he escaped ADVENT's clutches.

Dickey on the other hand had become downtrodden about the whole experience as he missed Shipman. He'd planned to propose to her after the mission, but that all changed with her death. When she was felled by the Berserker, he'd frozen and paid for that mistake dearly with his left eye. Now the nickname 'Deadeye' had two meanings. What was left of his empty eye socket was completely covered by a black eye patch that he refused to remove under any circumstances. With no purpose after the alien takeover, Dickey picked a fight at a bar and was imprisoned at Leavenworth when he killed an officer during the brawl. Prison had hardened him even further, and when Maroni and Bradford busted him out, they were surprised at the now badass version of Dickey. He now wanted nothing more than to kill anything that reminded him of all he's lost in the war. Dickey now has his brown hair cropped into a buzz-cut, wears green and black war paint that a sniper would use in the jungle, got a full sleeve tattoo on his right arm with the XCOM logo in the middle, and a tattoo of a stalking wolf on his left arm, and he then proceeded to die his armor dark blue to show off his new outlook on the war.

The four were ready to drop, when the Commander's face appeared on the screen connected to the base. They were surprised to see him again, and cheered once they realized he was back at the head of the ship.

"It's nice to see some familiar faces again. Below in the town square is where we make a statement to ADVENT. You're no longer safe in your big cities; we're back and ready for action. Good luck! And make sure to kill every single ADVENT on site. "

"Yes sir!" they exclaimed as they fast-roped to the ground below.

* * *

== On the Ground ==

The four soldiers landed just south of the square where the explosives were to be placed on the statue's base. Looking up they saw there was a three-story building that was overlooking the right side of the square, and thought it'd be the perfect place to set up an ambush for an ADVENT patrol. Deadeye and Ice both scaled the building and set up on the railing waiting for the enemy to patrol into them.

Dozer and Lockdown ran forward and took cover behind some concrete pillars as they saw four ADVENT troopers patrolling the square without a care in the world. It appears that word about the Commander's rescue hadn't reached them yet as they were being very lackadaisical about their duties. Knowing this was the time to strike; Dozer went on Overwatch as Lockdown raised her rifle to fire the first shots in the retaliation against ADVENT. The shots hit home as the lead trooper was felled with her brain leaking greenish blood from her helmet as she fell to the ground lifeless. Startled by the sudden attack, the troopers tried to retreat to the right in order to flank the two enemies in front of them. What they didn't account for was the shots that rang out after that. Dozer, Ice, and Deadeye all recorded kills as the remaining three troopers fell in sync to the cold ground beneath them. The two males regrouped with their female counterparts, as they began moving towards the statue; while all around them the citizens were fleeing in terror as the rumors about the terrorist group 'XCOM' were coming true before their very eyes.

Reaching the base of the statue, Dozer planted the X4 charges on it and the four fell back to detonate them, but jumped back behind the cover of some lamp posts, as an officer and two more troopers patrolled into them from the statue's rear. The officer raised its right hand as she pointed out Lockdown to the group and opened fire hitting her square in the kidney. Dickey ran over and helped her apply pressure to the wound, as Dozer unleashed a grenade that claimed the two troopers who were laying down wildfire on their position. The officer realized that he was outnumbered, and tried to flee behind the statue to signal reinforcements, but was struck down by a burst of assault rifle fire courtesy of Ice. His bullets found the back of the officer's skull as it ripped open in the process exposing his gray brain matter to the world. With the enemies dealt with, the squad prepared to leave, but Ice ran over to the officer and rolled him over as he noticed a data pad clipped to his belt, as well as a scope on his gun. Removing his combat knife from his belt, Ice sliced the pad free from the officer's belt as well as the scope from the gun as he pocketed the items before returning to his confused squadmates.

"What the docs might want a look at these." he replied as he showed the squad his haul. Shaking his head at the Englishman's actions, Deadeye proceeded to fast rope with Lockdown on his shoulder as she was too weak to walk. Dozer, on the other hand, kissed her husband for his intuition before the two joined them in the Skyranger via fast rope as well. The chaos left in their wake was a brutal wake-up call for ADVENT. These fighters were serious in their threats against their regime.

* * *

== Back at Base ==

The occupants on the bridge cheered for the squad's success as they left the mission and prepared to come home. With the corpses and items found at the site, the base would be getting a little bit busier with all the new work there was to do. The Commander proceeded to order Tygan to begin research into Modular Weapons so they could be one step closer to ADVENT's magnetic weapons, before looking into the data pad Ice had retrieved. He then gave Shen orders to begin work on a Medikit and a flashbang grenade just in case they were necessary for later missions. He then was about to retire for the day, when an alarm sounded over the computer system. One of the analysts signaled Bradford over and showed him what it was. Bradford paled at the sight before turning to the Commander with a grim face.

"It's Ghost sir. He and Black Widow have managed to migrate down to Austin and were securing transport here when they were ambushed by ADVENT. We need to send a team immediately or we risk losing two of the greatest sharpshooters to ever grace a war zone!"

"Understood Bradford, luckily we have just the man for the job. Smokey assemble a team and get them geared up, you depart once Firebrand returns from deployment."

"Roger that sir!" exclaimed Smokey as he saluted before quickly leaving the room to grab his gear.

'Hang in there Ghost, help is on the way! It's time to reunite the rest of the team.'

* * *

 **AN: And cut! That's a wrap on this chapter. Love it? Hate it? Drop me a review or PM and let me know. The OC's I have amassed will appear next chapter as a part of Smokey's retrieval team. If anyone gets confused about whom I'm referring to in the story please go to my profile as it has a list of all the characters that will be appearing in this story. What has XCOM's best tag team snipers been doing in their free time? Find out next time on "XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors"! Until next time, this is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **-PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	3. Reuniting the A Team

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!**

 **Hey guys, sorry about the wait but school and life caught up to me for a while. But, I'm free right now so it's time for another chapter in this story. With this chapter, I'm no longer accepting OC submissions, which means I will be adding in two of my own characters to fill the Specialist roles. Last time on the story Ghost had been found and Smokey was leading a team to bring him back to the Avenger. How will things go? There's only one way to find out.**

 **Disclaimer: The OC's shown in this chapter are property of their respective creators. I will be giving credit to them here for probably the only time during the story, so don't yell at me for it in later chapters.**

 **Josh "Tower" is property of Avther.**

 **Leon "Lucifer" Carter is property of ryzlow98.**

 **Jacob "Reaper" is property of Reaper115.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Reuniting the A Team**

== On the Skyranger ==

After receiving the Commander's orders, Smokey went back to the armory and retrieved his gear before heading to the Barracks and selecting three of the rookies present to come and join him for the mission. Sitting on the Skyranger he could now better scrutinize his three compatriots that had decided to follow him to retrieve his former second-in-command.

The first person sitting to Smokey's left was a male individual who towered over the others, Smokey included, that was currently leaning back against the Skyranger's wall observing the others around him. The person had a fair complexion, short black hair tucked under a black ball cap, and what appeared to be a bullet scar on his left cheek. The person also wore a pair of dark sunglasses, a skull bandana tied around his mouth to cover his scar somewhat, and black combat armor. This person was Josh or otherwise known as "Tower" due to his impressive 6' 7'' frame and his valiant last stand during an alien attack. Smokey had gotten the full story from Bradford, Josh had been in the resistance since the age of 16 since he was an orphan and didn't know his parents or his last name. During an alien attack against a civilian resistance site, Tower had grabbed a minigun from one of his fallen comrades and held off the alien attack long enough for the rest of the civilians to be evacuated. This led to him receiving his bullet scar when he was shot in the cheek by a ADVENT trooper's mag rifle, but the other fighters had managed to evacuate him out of there before he was captured. Smokey looked forward to working with him in the future as he had an aptitude for Heavy weapons, and he knew how to follow orders.

Looking to the man sitting across from Tower, Smokey observed that he had dyed his armor blood red and had the Australian flag proudly displayed at the top of his back armor. The male had bronzed skin, platinum blonde hair, and amber colored eyes. He also had pristine skin with no marks, scars, or tattoos anywhere on his body. This was Leon Carter also known as Lucifer amongst the resistance members for his aggressive fighting style. Lucifer was originally from Australia but moved to Tokyo with his family when he was young and was raised there. His family was very well off and he never had to go without anything he didn't want which allowed him to train extensively in martial arts and numerous kenjutsu styles. This background gave Lucifer his innate ability to dodge bullets out of instinct as well as slay numerous enemies with his blade when they get too close. The civilians that have seen him fight swore he looked like a guardian angel out there as he managed to protect everyone no matter the cost. He earned his nickname after he was injured on a mission and said he fell from grace and since Lucifer was the only guardian angel to fall from grace the name stuck.

Smokey observed the young man engaged in a friendly conversation with the final squad member who was respectfully listening to the Aussie's opinions about what the mission could be. Smokey admired Lucifer's attitude towards others as he was always friendly towards everyone, but knew that he refused to give up on a mission even if it was clear that the mission was going to fail regardless of their actions. This had led to Lucifer being wounded many times during his time in the resistance and it needed to be addressed before he got himself or someone else killed.

' _I hope Lockdown can cure him of this flaw. I'd hate to see such a promising soldier die so early because he can't understand the concept of knowing when you're beat.'_

Going back to the final squad member, he was the shortest of all of them, but also the youngest of the squad. Standing at just 6' 0'' with medium, dark blonde hair, and slightly pale skin was Jacob otherwise known as "Reaper" by the others for his cold demeanor and hate of anything extraterrestrial when on missions. "Reaper" had been picked up by the resistance unconscious on one of their earlier raids of an ADVENT facility. After coming to, he couldn't remember anything about who he was minus his name and age. The resistance was confused on what to do with him, but after demonstrating pinpoint accuracy with all of their weapons, they gladly allowed him to join the ranks. Reaper was dressed in black and blood red armor in the same style as the old XCOM uniform, and he dyed his assault rifle to match it with a digital camo style. Reaper had also grabbed a pair of black military goggles to hide his heterochromia eye condition which had blue in his right and a silver/steel coloring in his left; he'd also grabbed a plain black bandana to cover his mouth.

"Five minutes to deployment Smokey!" yelled the pilot over the engines.

"Roger that Firebrand. All right guys listen up; I'll be explaining our mission parameters." Said Smokey as he got the others' attention focused on him.

"A little over an hour ago, we received a secure transmission indicating that two of my old teammates from the first war were under siege and needed us to bail them out of a jam to being them back to the avenger. They've been trying to reach us for years and have now finally gotten close enough to contact us. We need to move fast before they're overwhelmed as they will be great assets to have moving forward."

"Excuse me sir?" asked Tower who had been listening to the mission briefing intently.

"Yes, Tower?"

"Do we have a description of the people we're looking for?"

"Yes we do, computer bring up the photos of our targets."

A few seconds passed before the screen came to life showing a male in his mid-thirties and standing at 6'4''. The male had reddish brown hair hidden under a backwards Orioles ball cap, with a matching thick reddish-brown beard and bluish-green eyes. He was wearing his old XCOM gear that was dyed a dark blue style with digital camouflage that matched his plasma sniper rifle.

"This is my old second-in-command Eric "Ghost" Roberts, he reached the rank of Colonel with me back in the first war and was Strike One's primary sniper which is surprising considering he was only a civilian shooting champion before joining XCOM shortly after first contact."

"Why'd he join XCOM Smokey?" asked Lucifer who was curious as to how a civilian managed to join XCOM back in those days. These days the resistance took anybody who was willing to fight, so it was more common to discover civilians who wanted to fight.

"Baltimore was attacked shortly after first contact and he holed up on a building near Camden Yards and picked off five Sectoids by himself before XCOM relieved the city and they offered him a job on the spot."

'Impressive, he's definitely someone I can learn under.' thought Reaper who had remained silent during the briefing.

*Whistling* "Damn that's impressive." said Lucifer who unknowingly matched Reaper's thoughts.

"Moving on." said Smokey as the screen changed to show a blonde-haired woman also in her mid-thirties standing at 5' 9'' and also carrying a plasma sniper rifle that was black with a red hourglass located near the trigger. Her armor was entirely black, and had the same red hourglass figure in the middle of her back. Her hair was stylized into a spiked ponytail that reached the base of her neck, and her blue eyes shown with fierce determination.

"This is Tracey "Black Widow" Roberts (nee Wolfe) she was Strike One's secondary sniper during the first war and was Ghost's partner. They both got married after the war and had a son Steve Austin Roberts. She was also a civilian shooting champion from Canada who joined XCOM after she heard they started accepting civilians to fight for them."

"Where was their last known location?" asked Tower.

"Their last transmission originated from this skyscraper located in the town square of the business district of Guadalajara, New Mexico. We're coming in hot meaning ADVENT will know that we're here so lock and load because we're expecting contact immediately after touching down.

"Sir, Yes Sir!" were the three simultaneous responses as the three rookies prepared for their first taste of contact under the Commander and Smokey. The Skyranger slowed up and hovered over another skyscraper that was just south of the town square as it lowered the ramp and dropped the ropes.

"Deploy!" exclaimed Smokey as he led the four man team into the battle one more time.

* * *

== On the Ground ==

"Contact!" exclaimed Lucifer as ADVENT troopers were spotted below them as they aimed their magnetic rifles up at the resistance members. That was their fatal mistake as three quick shots from Smokey, Lucifer and Reaper dropped them like a sack of potatoes while Tower remained on Overwatch in case any other pods appeared.

"Requiescat in Pace." stated Reaper in an eerily cold and calm voice that sent chills down Tower's spine.

"Oi mate! What's that gibberish you speaking?" asked Lucifer as the squad advanced to the next building via jumping the gap between them.

"It's Italian and it means Rest in Peace." stated Reaper as he effortlessly jumped the gap and left crack where he landed on the opposite building.

"That's actually Latin." spoke up Tower as he jumped the gap as well.

"Really, never bothered to find out, it just sounds cool." stated Reaper as he helped Lucifer keep his balance when he jumped the gap.

"Shh! Listen!" exclaimed Smokey quietly as they heard shooting coming from below them.

Looking over the edge, the team noticed ADVENT troopers shooting into a crowd of civilians who just happened to be in the area of Ghost's last transmission and had refused to give up the former XCOM veteran's location.

"We have to help them!" exclaimed Lucifer as he landed behind the group and unloaded his assault rifle into one unlucky trooper's back. As he aimed down on the other two, he heard his gun jam instead of shooting out more rounds when he pulled the trigger.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed as he tried to fix it before he was blown away by magnetic rounds.

BAM! BAM!

Looking up, he saw the other two falls, as he saw Tower and Smokey land next to him with their gun barrels smoking.

"Leon, you cannot run ahead like that! Not only did you put yourself in a bad spot, but you risked hitting the civilians with your shots! Don't do it again!" exclaimed Smokey as he berated the young Aussie.

"Um Smokey." said Tower as he tapped Smokey's shoulder.

"What is it?!" said Smokey still frustrated at Lucifer.

"Uh we appear to be surrounded." said Tower as another two pods of ADVENT troopers had encircled the three soldiers and were ordering them to drop their weapons and raise their hands. They started to comply when they heard four simultaneous noises.

BAM! BAM! THUNK! THUNK!

Four troopers fell to the floor with gaping holes in their helmets dead center of their forehead. The two directly behind Smokey and Tower had plasma burns covering their wounds but were missing the backs of their heads as the rounds entered from there. The other two directly in front of them had also fallen, but one was shot from behind by conventional assault rifle bullets, while the fourth one had a sniper rifle bullet clean through its forehead.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Lucifer swung his left leg behind him and tripped the trooper behind him as he shot wildly into the air. He then grabbed his combat knife from his right hip holster and stuck it in the trooper's throat in front him. The trooper had no time to do anything and just grabbed her throat in a vain effort to keep the blood from leaving as she fell over and gurgled on her blood as she eventually fell silent. Lucifer then jumped on the downed enemy and stabbed his knife through the trooper's visor as it sunk into the trooper's right eye as he struggled to move. Pulling it out, Lucifer noticed that the blade had snapped off after hitting the visor and threw it away in disgust.

"Worthless piece of crap! Where did those shots come from!?" he exclaimed as he scanned the rooftops for any movement. Reaper soon dropped down to join them as he uttered another 'Requiescat in Pace' as he joined the squad.

"I got the one in front of Tower, but I believe the other three shots are from an unidentified source." he stated calmly.

"I think I know who it was." said Smokey as he looked to the skyscraper behind him.

"GHOST; GET OFF THAT ROOF AND COME DOWN HERE IMMEDIATELY!"

"Roger that Smokey!" was heard as the three rookies were shocked to see the man from the hologram jump down and run up to Smokey before giving a salute.

"Hey Smokey, long time no see." Said Ghost as he rested his rifle on the back of his neck and lay both of his arms over it in a relaxed position. The rookies were still in complete shock that Ghost was not only casually standing in the middle of a warzone like he was, but that he was blasting "Fury of the Storm" by Dragonforce and still holding a conversation with Smokey.

"You're still an idiot Ghost, glad you never changed." said Smokey as he gave Ghost a high-five.

"You ready to go back and see the others? They've been dying to see you again."

"I'll bet. Hold on let me get the others." said Ghost as he picked up a radio off of his belt.

"Come on out honey, its all clear down here."

Shortly after he said that, Black Widow and Steve came out of hiding from the building Ghost was on as well. Steve was carrying Ghost's old sniper rifle which explained the fourth trooper's death, while Black Widow had her customized plasma rifle slung over her right shoulder.

"Nice that "A" team is finally back together." stated Black Widow as she hugged Smokey in greeting.

"How you been Tracey?" asked Smokey.

"Good, Steve was wondering where you went a few years ago, but he's immensely relieved to know that you're okay."

"I'll bet he was. How you doing Steve?"

"Good Uncle Smokey!" exclaimed the happy ten year old who looked just like his parent, with his blonde hair spiked up in a short Mohawk, and his bluish green eyes full of happiness at seeing his godfather alive again.

"Ahem! As much as I hate to interrupt this heartwarming moment; are you going to introduce us Smokey?" asked Lucifer in an annoyed tone.

"Sorry about that Lucifer. Guys meet some of the new rookies, Leon "Lucifer" Carter, Josh aka "Tower" and Jacob aka "Reaper". Guys meet my old teammates."

"It's an honor to meet you. We've heard so much about you from the older soldiers and we're glad to say that the stories weren't exaggerated." stated Tower in a respectful tone.

"Likewise." said Reaper in a normal tone that could've been confused as boredom.

"Totally!" exclaimed Lucifer in an excited tone as he was happy to finally meet the legends from the first war.

"Well enough dawdling, let's go home. Firebrand come and meet us for pickup." radioed Smokey as he threw out the blue smoke to signal the Skyranger.

"On the way Smokey." It didn't take long for them to be picked up as the squad boarded the Skyranger via fast rope as they began the journey back to the Avenger.

* * *

 **AN: And that's a wrap on this chapter. I originally had this going a little longer, but I felt like the delay between chapters was too long so I'll push all of that back into Chapter 4. OC submissions will be open until next Sunday evening before I insert two of my own OC's to fill the remaining holes in the squad. Let me know what you guys think, as I tried to represent the OC characters as faithfully as I could. Until next time, this is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **-PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	4. Specializations and Power Supply

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!**

 **What's up everybody? Now that most of my schoolwork has been completed I should be able to update more frequently, Yay! Ready for the next chapter in the ever evolving adventure of the XCOM faithful? Me to! So last we left off, the rescue squad was heading back to base with Ghost, Black Widow, and their child in tow. Let's jump right in!**

 **Chapter 4: Specializations and Power Supply**

* * *

The journey back to base was a joyous one for the soldiers as the mission was a complete success and without injury. Ghost and Black Widow got to know more things about their new teammates such as their backgrounds and potential aspirations once they received their promotions to Squaddie. Ghost and Reaper were busy discussing tactics and how to best utilize the skill tree that both were going to be using which was the actual Sniper skill tree since both preferred to stay as far away from their targets as possible. Black Widow was regaling stories of her time in Old XCOM and during the breaks between wars at Tower's request who was interested in what life was like back then. Lucifer was busy talking to Smokey about how to better handle a situation similar to the crowd incident on the mission. Lucifer didn't want to bet the one responsible for getting his friends killed and was hoping to keep his emotions in check. During all of this, Steve Austin Roberts was taking a nap as the excitement of the situation tired the kid out.

The landing of the Skyranger jerked everyone out of their conversations, as they gathered up their gear and got ready to disembark the craft once the cargo hold's ramp lowered to the Avenger's deck. Once it was fully down the squad got to see the rest of the soldiers, Central, the Commander, and both Dr. Tygan and Engineer Shen waiting for them as they applauded the mission's success.

"Excellent work Smokey, you still got it. Ghost and Black Widow, welcome home." stated the Commander warmly as he shook hands with both Smokey and Ghost and hugged Black Widow.

"And is this your guy's kid you were expecting all those years ago. He's certainly grown." said the Commander as he gazed upon Steve who had hidden behind his mother's legs due to his shyness.

"Yep this is our son, Steve Austin Roberts. Steve this is the Commander, mommy and daddy's boss from the war a few years ago." said Black Widow.

"Hi." said Steve quickly before he resumed hiding behind his mother.

"Alright enough embarrassing the kid, I'm extremely proud of the mission outcome. As such you are all being promoted to Squaddie; including Ghost and Black Widow."

"Actually sir, I'm going to be sitting this one out." said Black Widow surprising the others except for Ghost who nodded as he stood by her side.

"Yeah Ghost and I agreed that someone should be available to raise Steve so he doesn't grow up without us in case the worst happens."

"Understood, it was a pleasure to have you as a soldier Tracey." the Commander commented as he saluted her.

"Likewise it was pleasure to serve as your subordinate sir." responded Black Widow as she returned the salute.

"Getting back on topic, all of you need to state your desired classes so we can properly outfit you with our limited supplies."

Going from left to right, the soldiers all stated their desired specializations, except for Smokey and Ghost who were remaining as a Heavy (Demolition) and Sniper (Sharpshooter) respectively.

"I'll be going into the Demolition class sir." stated Tower respectively, as he traded in his assault rifle for a minigun.

"I'll become a Ranger, boss." stated Lucifer as he grabbed a shotgun and a machete to replace his combat knife that was broken during the mission.

"Sharpshooter. Can I also receive a machete?" stated and asked Reaper getting a nod from the Commander approving his request.

"Excellent! Now that everyone is equipped, go and rest up because we may have a mission for you guys in the near future."

* * *

== Two Days Later ==

The return of the two veterans sparked new excitement into the XCOM faithful as they renewed their efforts to get the Avenger up and running and fulfill Dr. Shen's dying endeavor. The communication links were being monitored, when suddenly a transmission came through from Juneau, Alaska. The local resistance forces had ambushed an ADVENT convoy carrying a device that could act as a potential power source for the Avenger.

The initial surprise attack caught the ADVENT forces off guard, however they were responding fiercely and the resistance forces were going to be wiped out shortly if XCOM didn't arrive quickly. Sensing the urgency of the situation, the Commander and Central assembled a squad that was quickly shipped off to the Alaskan wilderness to battle the ADVENT troops and the cold.

* * *

== On the Skyranger ==

The four selected soldiers were currently checking over their gear and armor to make sure everything was in its proper place.

"Ah it feels good to be back in action." said Ghost as he finished calibrating his new sniper rifle since his old one was being refurbished by Shen.

"How's Dozer, Ice?" asked Ghost to his former trainee Benjamin "Ice" Watson, the Britain native had his orange armor on and was ready to rock.

"She's good, can't wait to take the fight back to ADVENT and the aliens like always." replied Ice.

"Yeah she always was a tenacious firecracker. Any idea of what we're doing?"

"Nope, just got the call from Central to get ready and head out."

"Whatever it is, it must be important since none of us are rookies." stated Jane Kelly, who was the other survivor from the Commander's rescue.

"I agree it's only logical." said Tower who was relaxing against the Skyranger's wall with his minigun leaning next to him.

The screen then turned on to reveal the Commander and Central standing in the briefing room waiting for them to give them their attention. The chatter ceased at that point as the Commander began his briefing.

"Alright Strike One you're being sent in to relieve a resistance unit that managed to locate a power source for the Avenger. The team managed to catch the convoy off guard at first, but they're now under heavy fire and won't hold on for long. Your mission is to get in, relieve the units and coordinate with them, and secure the power supply for transport back to the Avenger."

The squad acknowledged the Commander's orders as Central stepped up to give them some news.

"It appears as though the supply was damaged by an errant grenade throw and has become unstable. We're going to need to move fast before it goes off and kills everyone in the surrounding area. Looks like our job just got a lot more difficult."

"We can do it! We aren't the best the world has to offer for nothing!" exclaimed Ghost trying to give the team a pep talk.

"I agree we can do this like Ghost said." agreed Tower.

"Roger that Strike One. Central out."

The green light came on as the Skyranger hovered over the area of the forest where the team would be landing.

"Deploy!" shouted Kelly as the four fast-roped into the area to begin the relief effort and hopefully get XCOM headquarters airborne.

* * *

 **AN: And we're going to stop right there. Sorry about the long gap, but I was swamped with school again. Only two more weeks left though. Next chapter will be covering the mission in depth as well as introducing the new OC's who will be joining XCOM. Sorry about the brevity, but you guys deserved some sort of update to show that I haven't died. Until next time, this is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **-PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	5. Fresh Meat

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!**

 **And I'm coming at you guys with the next chapter of XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors! Last time we left, Strike One was given the task of reinforcing the resistance members that were trying to obtain the power source necessary for the Avenger to get up and running. How will that work out? Let's find out!  
**

 **Chapter 5: Fresh Meat**

* * *

== On the Ground ==

The four soldiers finished repelling and gazed at the surrounding forest for any movement whether friendly or hostile. The area the squad landed was surrounded by trees and was overlooking a set of railroad tracks on the hill's left side.

"Any ideas where they went?" asked Ice as he observed that fresh snow had fallen covering any attempts at tracking the resistance soldiers' movements.

"We would probably be best served following the tracks as ADVENT is known for using trains for their supply convoys." said Kelly who assumed the role of squad leader for the mission.

"Roger that Kelly." stated Tower as he began following the tracks with her, while Ghost and Ice stayed on the high ground and kept cover over them.

After about five minutes of walking, the squad came upon the first signs of battle as they reached the caboose of the ADVENT train. There were three troopers laid out on the ground stuck down by conventional bullets.

"Advance with caution, we're getting closer to their position." said Kelly, as the squad started moving forward at a slower pace.

Moving forward, Kelly noticed two more trooper bodies, as well as two resistance soldier bodies on the ground now.

"Damn they put up a valiant effort." said Tower as he mourned their loss.

Just then an explosion was heard near the front of the train.

"Shit! Double time people they need our help!" shouted Kelly as the squad took off sprinting towards the front of the train.

Coming upon the scene, the squad saw two members of the resistance pinned down by a continuous barrage of mag rifle fire. Another member was currently applying first aid to a fourth member that was bleeding profusely from a "sucking chest wound".

"Hang on Gardner! Don't you die on me!" shouted the medic as he was working overtime to keep the man stable. Despite his best efforts however, the man bled out before he could save him as he stopped struggling.

"Son of a bitch!" shouted the medic as he dropped his gear and crawled back over to his two comrades. The cover they were behind was originally a thick log that had fallen some years before, but it was slowly disintegrating due to the sustained mag rifle fire that ADVENT was sustaining on their position. They had less than five minutes before they would be completely exposed.

"Kelly we got to move now! Otherwise there isn't going to be any remaining resistance in this area!" shouted Ice as he lined up his cross hairs on one of the troopers raining fire on the resistance members.

"Wait for Tower and I to flank them then open up on them!" ordered Kelly as she and Tower climbed the top of one of the train cars immediately on the troopers' flanks.

"Roger, holding!" responded Ghost as Ice began getting antsy to take a shot.

"They need to hurry up!" shouted Ice.

"Calm down Ben! They'll get there I have faith in them."

"In position." stated Kelly as she and Tower were standing ready to fire at the unsuspecting ADVENT.

"Firing at will!" responded Ghost as he and Ice lined up their shots and fired two simultaneous rifle rounds that both bored into separate ADVENT troopers causing them to fall backwards due to the force of impact. Suddenly terrified of the snipers that dropped two of their comrades, the other four troopers tried falling back to their left behind the train cars, but were met with a shotgun blast that tore into the lead trooper.

Now firmly flanked, the other two tried firing at the new attackers, but were met with a hail of bullets courtesy of Tower who cut down two of them. With nowhere to run, the final ADVENT was hit in the back of the head from one of the resistance member's assault rifles as he fell lifelessly to the ground. After the unexpected ambush, the resistance members relaxed a little as they realized that XCOM had arrived to support them.

"Thanks for the assist XCOM! Come on out so we can plan this assault." said the assumed to be resistance leader.

At the leader's request, Kelly and Tower dropped down from the train and walked out to meet them as Ghost and Ice descended from their perches on top of the snowy hillside. Of course by this point, Ghost had placed his ear buds in and was jamming to "We Got the Noise" by The Donots. Needless to say the resistance members could only sweat drop at the laid back approach of one of their rescuers. Shaking off the distraction, Kelly decided to begin the introductions as XCOM began the introductions.

"Nice to see some friendly faces for once, Sq. Jane Kelly and team leader for Strike One on this particular operation." she said as she then motioned for Tower to go next.

"Sq. Josh aka "Tower", grew up in an orphanage never knew my parents or my last name. Current Demolitions Expert for Strike One and newest member of the team." he received from sympathetic looks from the resistance members, and acknowledged them with a silent thank you nod before motioning for Ice to go next.

"Sq. Benjamin "Ice" Watson, veteran of the first war with the aliens, trained under this guy here." he said as he motioned to the music-listening Ghost before continuing his introduction. "Strike One's second best sniper and originally from Leeds, England."

Not even needing the signal from Ice, Ghost began his introduction.

"Sq. Eric "Ghost" Roberts, originally from Baltimore, MD I was a veteran of the first war as well working as Strike One's primary sniper with my wife. Just recently rejoined XCOM and this is my first taste of combat since returning two days ago, feel as great as ever."

"Well now you know us, who are you guys?" asked Kelly as she motioned for the leader to start.

"Gabriella Vega, leader of the local resistance forces in the area. Originally from Argentina, immigrated to the U.S.A. to find work as a lawyer and joined up when the attacks began again. Worked my way up through the ranks and eventually took over this group when the original leader was killed. We're all that remains now." Vega introduced with a sad expression at the end as she remembered all the lives that had been lost over the past few years. Vega was approximately 5' 10'' and around 135 lbs. She wore a mismatched combination of fatigues that looked really frayed and weathered along with a pair of black fingerless gloves and a red beanie that contained her long flowing black hair. Her skin was also tanned and she possessed beautiful brown eyes. The condition of her uniform really honed in the point that the resistance in this area had been fighting a losing battle and desperately needed help. After composing herself, she motioned for the first male standing to her left to go.

"What's up y'all? Name's Kyle Jensen and I'm originally from Nashville, Tennessee. Linked up with the resistance after my farm was raided and my folks were killed. Met up with these guys after traveling as far west away from there as possible and been kicking alien ass whenever I get the chance." said the 6'7'' 250 lbs. mountain of a man with a thick southern accent. Kyle had shaggy, sandy blonde hair that went every which way but down so he had it hidden under a camo snapback hat with a Chase Rice logo on the front of it. He had sparkling blue eyes that were still filled with happiness despite all the combat he'd seen, and he was dressed in a pair of torn blue jeans, and wore a white t-shirt under an orange hunting jacket. If he was fazed at all by the cold he certainly didn't show it. Looking to his left, he motioned for the final member of the group to go.

"Hi guys. I'm James Watkins and I'm from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I joined up with the resistance after my college was raided and my town was bombed by the incoming alien UFO's. Knowing that my family was more than likely dead I stayed here and ended up working as the unofficial medic as I was going to go to medical school before all of this happened." said the third member in a shy voice as he hid behind Kyle after talking. James was approximately 6' 3'' and wore a pair of black Ray-Ban's that had transitioned lenses due to the light reflecting off of the snow constantly. He had what appeared to be a scar under his right eye that looked liked stitches from a baseball and had brown eyes that were full of loneliness. He wore a backwards Milwaukee Brewers™ snap-back, a thick red Wisconsin Badgers™ hoodie that was caked in blood, tan cargo pants, and yellow Under Armour® sneakers. He also had a pair of dog tags around his neck that jingled when he hid behind Kyle.

"Don't mind him, he's just shy around strangers." said Kyle as he smiled at his friend's actions.

"It's all good." said Ice.

"Great now that introductions are out the way, we'll have to work on a plan on the fly since the supply is going to explode in ten minutes if we don't hurry." stated Kelly as the squad of seven advanced further towards the front of the train.

* * *

== Five Minutes Later ==

The squad was currently two cars down from the power supply and could see it sparking and knew it wouldn't last too much longer. Surveying the area, they noticed a patrol of two troopers and an officer standing directly next to the power supply.

"Alright, here's the play." stated Kelly as she got the other's attention.

"Ghost and Ice will provide Overwatch from that shack to the train's right. Tower and Jensen will provide suppressive fire from here, while Vega, Watkins, and I will run up and provide close range fire while simultaneously deactivating that thing. Questions?"

"I have one." said James as he raised his hand as if still in school.

"How is that he can understand everything we've been saying with his headphones in?"

The others face-faulted at this, while Ice and Ghost laughed their asses off. James just became incredibly embarrassed and blushed from the extra attention.

"I'm an expert lip-reader so I can understand everything going on around me, while still getting to enjoy my music simultaneously."

"You do know that Black Widow is watching the mission right Ghost?" said Tower.

Ghost immediately stopped laughing and became incredibly pale at the thought of his wife's anger at him doing this during missions again.

"Didn't think so, she'll kill you sir." continued Tower as he smirked at his superior's misfortune.

"Alright focus! Move on my mark." said Kelly.

"Tower, Kyle suppressive fire now!"

The two opened up a stream of fire as the three enemies dove for cover in the valley to the train's left.

"Move up!" ordered Kelly as she led the charge forward while the snipers moved to the shack's high ground.

The troopers attempted to rise and take shots at the charging enemies, but couldn't as the fire from the two men. Before they got a chance to react, the two were gunned down from shots courtesy of Watkins and Vega. The officer attempted to call for reinforcements, but was easily dispatched by Kelly's machete as she charged up and cleaved her from right shoulder to left hip as the bisected enemy fell to the ground in pieces.

Moving forward, Kelly reached the supply and began deactivating it according to Bradford's instructions, as she was almost hit by plasma fire from her right. Looking towards the shack, she saw one trooper standing with an unusually fleshy creature that she didn't recognize.

"It appears to be a Sectoid." said Tygan's voice as he came over the team's communication devices.

'Shit! That's what they look like now?' thought Kelly as she had never personally encountered any of the alien members of the ADVENT forces.

"Improved with human DNA, the Sectoid stands larger and more imposing then they did during the first war. Their psionic capabilities have also dramatically improved making them an even greater threat." said Tygan finishing his briefing before closing the channel, allowing Kelly to process a situation where that thing would be killed quickly.

The Sectoid then proceeded to reanimate one of the trooper corpses behind her, which showed off its increased psionic potential as the corpse began advancing on her. However, Vega and Watkins overcame their surprise and took the walking zombie down before it could do any damage. With this distraction handled, Kelly easily finished the defusing of the power supply allowing full focus on the enemy units.

The trooper escorting the Sectoid was taken down easily by Jensen's assault rifle, while the Sectoid attempted to move up and use more of its psionic attacks. However, it failed to notice the two snipers currently sitting above its position on the roof. Ice shot it in its legs causing it to fall forwards onto the ground. Rolling over, it attempted to fire the plasma pistol on its right wrist at the XCOM sniper, but that attempt was squashed as Ghost had leapt from the roof and landed on top of the creature and punched it in the face. Stunned, the creature had no defense for Ghost drawing his .44 Magnum from his hip holster and firing two rounds point blank into its eyes effectively killing it as yellow blood flowed from its wounds onto the ground and splattered onto Ghost's face and clothes.

Wiping off his face, Ghost reached for his headset as he and the others scanned the area for any more surprises.

"We're all clear down here Firebrand. Ready for pickup whenever."

"Roger that Ghost, en route now." replied the female pilot as the squad relaxed knowing that battle was theirs.

"Kelly, do you think it would be okay if we joined forces with you guys?" asked Vega.

"What brought this on Vega?"

"Well we're barely holding on up here, and we're the only ones left alive from this group. Instead of trudging around the cold with no progress to show, I think it would be best if we worked with you."

"I would have to ask the Commander about this…"

"It's okay with me Kelly. She's telling the truth the resistance up there has been badly beaten according to the records I went through earlier. We need all the help we can get since ADVENT is still pretty tight on our recruiting lines."

"Commander is on board with this, we'll stop by your guys' camp to pick up any gear you want and then we'll head back to the Avenger."

"Thanks a lot Jane." Smiled Vega as she turned back to address her two men who were busy conversing with the three XCOM males.

'This is definitely for the best. We can now avenge our fallen comrades and do some more good in this world. Vigilo, Confido.' thought Vega as she looked up to see the XCOM Skyranger descending to the Earth to pick up the cargo and now three newest soldiers.

* * *

 **AN: And cut! That's a wrap on this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed the new OC's I added to this story as no one else submitted a character. I'll update my profile with their information sometime tomorrow, and their specializations will be revealed in the next chapter as well as on the profile. Let me know what you guys think about the chapter in a comment or review, and don't forget to follow and favorite to show your support. Until next time my loyal readers, this is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **-PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	6. Moving On

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION! That's right guys I'm back with a new chapter for this fan fic. Sorry for the long wait, but I just graduated from graduate school and decided to a break from everything and unwind with video games and hosting my Survivor group game over on Tengaged ( I & N's Survivor if you're interested or care.) Now I'm back to give you guys what you've been waiting for another chapter in the continuing adventures of the XCOM resistance movement. Let's kick this sucker off!**

 **Chapter 6: Moving On**

* * *

== A Few Minutes After the Skyranger's Arrival ==

After gathering up the alien gear and corpses and securing them in the aircraft's storage area, the group boarded and took off for the resistance members headquarters. The mood for the trip was mostly somber as the group gazed upon the fallen resistance members bodies that were covered by some bed sheets taken from the shack Ghost and Ice had been positioned on. It was a harrowing reminder that not everyone was going to survive this war and you never know when your time will come.

Firebrand had set down in a field approximately ten miles from the battle scene as the resistance members disembarked from the vehicle to pick up their gear and say goodbye to the place that had been their home for the past five years or so. The group's first priority was burying the fallen members as they were quickly placed in the group's makeshift cemetery as they placed the place markers in the ground with the member's makeshift dog tags. The group bowed their heads as Kyle surprisingly led them through a prayer as he finished it with a salute as the others followed his lead. Afterwards the team went about helping them grab all their personal effects and sensitive equipment that shouldn't fall into ADVENT's clutches.

* * *

== With James, Ghost and Ice ==

James had made his way over to the infirmary to gather up his medical supplies and equipment. Entering the rundown building, Ghost and Ice noticed the little living area in the back corner where they saw a whole bunch of Wisconsin Badgers™ and Milwaukee Brewers™ apparel and some other items.

"You lived in here, James?" asked Ice incredulously.

"Yeah, I was the unit's only doctor so I pretty much just stayed here in case they needed me in a hurry." replied James matter-of-factly.

Looking closer to his personal items, Ghost noticed an electric guitar amongst James' things. If he had to guess it was a 1958 Gretsch® Black Falcon which was the same one used by Malcolm Young of AC/DC fame.

"You play guitar James?" asked Ghost as he picked up the guitar and handed it to James.

"Yeah my dad taught me before he died. Playing music helps me relieve stress after a long day or a tough mission. If I hadn't been so interested in medicine I think I would've been a rocker." replied James as he reminisced about the good times he had playing his guitar.

"Maybe you could play something for us on the way back to base. We've got a long trip back after all." offered Ice since he thought it'd be a cool thing to see.

"Well if you guys are sure…" said James nervously as he wasn't used to playing in front of others.

"Yeah it'll be fun!" said Ghost showing his excitement.

"Alright I guess I can do that. That should be everything, let's head out." said James packing up the last of his gear.

"Alright let's go boys." said Ghost as the trio headed back to the Skyranger.

* * *

== With Gabriella and Kelly ==

Gabriella made her way over to the biggest of the three buildings in the center of the camp that Kelly assumed was the camp's headquarters as she followed along behind her. Opening the door and lighting the lanterns the room was illuminated very faintly. Kelly took notice of the various maps and documents scattered around the place indicating how disorganized the unit was due to the loss of most of its leadership. She looked to the right and noticed Gabriella near a cot that was covered in more paperwork that included supplies information and personnel rosters.

"Never really knew how bad things were out here. I'm sorry we couldn't help sooner." stated Kelly in a regretful tone.

"It's all good Jane. You guys had to straighten out things at your place first, though I can't say for a fact that other leaders will feel the same way." replied Gabriella in an understanding tone.

Kelly took her hat off as she let her hair hang down out of the ponytail she had it in.

"Yeah don't remind me of that headache."

Gabriella giggled at Kelly massaging her temples as if trying to get rid of an oncoming migraine/headache.

"Sorry for that. Well I've got everything packed let's get out of here."

"Are you sure about this move, Gabriella?"

"Yeah this place is nothing but a bunch of depressing and bad memories for me and the guys. This move will be good for us as a fresh start and hopefully more successful endeavor against ADVENT." stated Gabriella in a firm and confident tone.

"Alright come on." said Jane as the two women made their way back to the Skyranger to join the others.

* * *

== With Kyle and Tower ==

Kyle led Tower over to the medium sized building on the right side of the camp that had a crudely drawn word of "Barracks" on it. Opening the rusty door, the two entered an area that held no more than twenty-five cots and fifteen mattresses strewn about the place. Over in the corner he noticed a memorial wall of sorts where the names of those that had died were written on the wall in permanent marker. All of the cots looked empty except for four of them, which Kyle was currently going through.

Tower stood back and observed as Kyle took the belongings over to the wall and placed them in a neat pile and then wrote the name, age, rank, and date of death for the people who had fallen before XCOM had arrived. He repeated the action for the other two members as he gazed at wall solemnly.

"You know what, Tower?"

"What's that Kyle?"

"I've seen so much death that this has become a sort of routine for me and that scares me. I don't want to become some sort of mindless robot when it comes to these things. I want to keep my humanity."

Tower walked over and placed his hand on the taller boy's shoulder as he gave some words of comfort.

"So don't, always keep the memory of them in your heart and you'll never lose your humanity. The fact that you still care about them after they've died is evidence enough of that."

"Thanks man. Guess I should start packing." said Kyle as he started grabbing his belongings and placing it in his duffel bags. As he was packing, Tower noticed a picture of Kyle and his family standing outside of a large barn with smiles on their faces.

"That your family?"

"Yeah, that was us before this whole mess started. I dropped out of school to help my dad on the farm since he was getting on in years even though I was going to graduate at the top of my class. It was great work, helped me grow up and fill out nicely." he said as he flexed his muscles to prove his point while laughing.

Tower smirked at Kyle's happiness but said nothing as he knew he wasn't finished.

"Then the attacks came at home. I wasn't around at the time as I was making a delivery to the local farmer's market. I came back the entire farm was ablaze and the animals were all slaughtered in their pens and living areas. I rushed to the house to see if anyone was still alive, but I found them all laid out on the front lawn executed without mercy. I grabbed them all and buried them out back away from the house as it was starting to collapse due to flames. My mother, father, baby sister, and uncle, I never forget their faces as I whip some alien ass without mercy!" exclaimed Kyle with tears flowing down his face.

"That's good to know you have a fighting spirit Kyle, I never knew my birth parents or my last name." stated Tower in a sad tone.

"Damn man that blows. Had no idea." said Kyle.

"It's all good, I got used to it after a while. Back when I was younger I was on my first resistance mission and saw my unit's Demolition soldier go down so I grabbed his minigun and started mowing down ADVENT members left and right until they got a lucky shot on me and hit me in the cheek." said Tower as he undid his bandana to show his face to Kyle. Kyle winced at the scar, but said nothing as Tower repositioned his bandana.

"Now I'm quitter and more reserved in my decision making, but I still possess that fighting spirit to try and figure out my parents' identities. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't let it take over and cloud your judgement on missions, but never forget it either as it'll motivate you to keep moving forward no matter what you see."

"Wise and powerful words man, glad you shared them with me." said Kyle as he fist-bumped Tower.

"Looks like we're about done here, let me do one more thing." said Kyle as he hoisted the bags over his massive shoulders. He then approached the Memorial Wall and wrote under it "Gone, but not forgotten. Miss you guys, we'll see you on the other side. – Gabriella, James, and Kyle.

"There we go. Now I'm ready." said Kyle as he set the marker down for the final time.

"Roger that." replied Tower as he led Kyle back to the Skyranger.

* * *

== Back at the Skyranger ==

The three groups all met at the Skyranger simultaneously and looked back upon the camp one last time before embarking onto the aircraft to begin the journey home. After flying for a few minutes, the soldiers took their safety harnesses off and moved freely around the hold as James began setting up his amplifier and pulled out his guitar as the others grew curious.

"James what are you doing?" asked Kyle who was surprised that his friend owned a guitar.

"Well I'm setting up to play a song for you guys since we have a long ride back, and Ghost and Ice said it would be a good idea." said James as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I never you could play." said Kyle.

"I did." said Gabriella as everyone turned to her.

"How?" asked James, incredulously since he never showed anyone or told them about it.

"Well I overheard you playing when you thought you were alone, you're really good by the way. And your voice is great also." said Gabriella shyly as she blushed a light pink.

"Wow. Thanks Gabriella! Never thought I was that good, so it's nice to hear that from someone else." replied James in a happy tone while Gabriella nodded her head towards him.

James then finished tuning his guitar as he sat thinking about what he wanted to play for his small audience. After a while he finally decided on a song.

"Despite everything I've seen over the years, I know that if I keep my heart happy then I'll come out alright in the end." he stated before beginning to play. (Credit for the song goes to Yellowcard. Title of the song is "Always Summer". Music Video Link will be in the concluding Author's Note.)

*Music Begins as James Begins Playing*

I think I have everything I need

It got dark, but now I think I see

The world around is full of arms still reaching out to me

I hear the notes and belt them back to you

I feel loved

I'm burning like a fuse

I'm not afraid

'Cause I know I've got nothing left to lose

I just want to say

I know I let you down, but I'm letting out

And I found a way that I can tell the truth, make it up to you

I know that I have always walked the line

In between of confidence and lies

So many scenes are full of words I wish I could rewind

But here you are forgiving me again

You'll never know how real to me you've been

This is the start of another empty page where I begin

I just want to say

I know I let you down, but I'm letting out

And I found a way that I can tell the truth, make it up to you

I left home but there's one thing I still know

It's always summer in my heart and in my soul

I loved you first, I love you still

I always will

I loved you first, I love you still

I always will

*Insert Violin Solo, as James provides the Rhythm Section*

I just want to say

I know I let you down, but I'm letting out

And I found a way that I can tell the truth, make it up to you

I left home but there's one thing that I still know

It's always summer in my heart and in my soul

It's always summer in my heart and in my soul

It's always summer in my heart and in my soul

*Music Ends*

James looked around at the shocked and awed faces as they all began clapping for him as he bowed and thanked them numerous times.

"That was electric James!" said Ice.

"Told you it was a good idea kid!" exclaimed Ghost as he patted James on the back.

"Think you can give us a few more songs James?" asked Gabriella.

"Sure thing!" exclaimed James as the rest of the ride back to base was filled with the sound of rock music coming from the hold.

* * *

== Back at Base ==

Firebrand began the docking procedures as she landed the plane safely on the Avenger's runway as a bunch of personnel entered to remove the power source under Shen's supervision. Afterwards, Tygan led a bunch of other personnel to help him remove the bodies and gear recovered by the team in order to gain a better understanding of what they were up against in the fight with ADVENT.

After that chaos had subsided, the team disembarked with their new additions following closely behind them along with their belongings. Reaching the ramp, the group came face to face with the Commander and Bradford and they all salted him in unison.

"At ease soldiers." ordered the Commander as the troops got into relaxed stances around him.

"Excellent work out there Strike One, your efforts have ensured us that we'll be airborne in no time at all. Sadly, not all of you could be promoted but Kelly here as earned herself the rank of Corporal!" stated the Commander as the others applauded her for her accomplishment.

"So Kelly, which specialization tree would you like to start moving down?" asked Bradford ass he was proud of his former bodyguard.

"I'll move down the Scout tree and take Phantom as my next ability Bradford." said Kelly after thinking about it for a moment.

"Good choice Jane, I'll schedule your stealth training for tomorrow." said Bradford as he made the notes on his duty roster.

"Now moving on, I see that you've brought some guests back with you Strike One. Will all three of you kindly step forward and state your names, ages, hometowns, and preferred specializations since your experiences qualify you as Squaddies immediately." said/asked the Commander as the three new members stepped forward in unison. Going from left to right, Gabriella started.

"Gabriella Vega, 24, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I'd like to become a Specialist." stated Gabriella with confidence as Bradford made the notes on his roster.

"Kyle Jensen, 20, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, and I'd like to become a Ranger!" boomed the big man in an excited tone. Bradford made the notes, and then they looked to the last member who was a little uncomfortable with all the attention, but was able to get through it no problem.

"James Watkins, 19, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, and I'd also like to become a Specialist."  
Bradford made the final notes, as he then walked off to get them entered into XCOM's database.

"You three will be able to begin training after we get you in our system and give you all some new dog tags and identification cards. Once you have that feel free to help yourselves to the weapons, clothing, and other areas of the base. I'm sure your friends would be more than happy to help you guys out with a tour and such."

The aforementioned soldiers nodded as they smiled at the new arrivals.

"Alright if there are no questions." said the Commander as he looked around and received headshakes from everyone.

"Alright then, Dismissed." said the Commander as he saluted them all which they returned before he took his leave.

"Alright you heard the man, let's get you guys settled into the Barracks and introduce you to the others before we give you the grand tour of the place." said Kelly as the group followed her out of the hangar.

* * *

== A Few Days Later ==

All around the ship, excitement was in the air as Shen and her helpers had managed to get the core installed and were preparing to fire it off and get the Avenger in the air.

"On my mark, start it up!" stated Shen as the power core burst into activity and all around the ship everyone stopped what they were doing as the ship began to rattle.

"Lift off and get this thing in the air!" ordered the Commander as the pilots nodded before starting to try and raise the ship. A few tense seconds passed as the ship left its place on the ground and started to ascend. After reaching a few thousand feet, the landing gears were pulled up and the pilots began to fly around as the ship handled like a dream.

"The Avenger is mobile!" exclaimed the pilot over the intercom as the entire ship exploded into cheers and yells as they were finally able to move around and better combat ADVENT.

All of a sudden, a call came in over the radio as Bradford answered it.

"Understood Little Sister, XCOM out!" finished Bradford as he looked at the Commander.

"Commander, one of our resistance contacts has been killed by ADVENT, but they managed to lay down a data cache on a hard drive before that happened. We need to move in quickly if we're going to recover that data!"

"Understood Bradford! Assemble a team while I direct the pilots to the area of operations. Where are we going anyway?" he asked as Bradford face-faulted before composing himself.

"Boston, Massachusetts sir."

"Roger that Bradford. You heard the man set a course for the Eastern United States! It's time we take the fight back to ADVENT!" ordered the Commander as the ship exploded in agreeance and excitement as the ship flew off to its destination.

' _That's right we're back in the fight now ADVENT! Don't get too cozy because we're going to knock down your front door!'_

* * *

 **AN: And cut! That's a wrap on this chapter, let me know what you guys think about in a review or PM or both doesn't matter to me. Once again I apologize for the long wait and I hope to be more prompt next time. Once again this is "The Nasty One" signing off!**

 **PRAK #TheNastyOne**

 **Video Link:** **(add this to the end of YouTube's web address): /watch?v=kIeDk7NptVo**


	7. What Burgers Are Made Of?

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!**

 **That's right everyone I'm back with the next installment of "XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors". Sorry for the wait, but laziness grabbed a hold of me again as I recently acquired a PS4 and having being playing "The Division" and "Black Ops 3" extensively. Hit me up at PRAKNASTY24 if you want to game together. Anyway, on with the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: What Burgers Are Made Of?**

== On the Skyranger ==

The Avenger had flown to within a hundred miles of the target operation at which point it took some cover in a forest clearing while Firebrand was dispatched to transport the team to the target area. The site for this operation was a small meatpacking plant on the outskirts of Boston that was one of the leading production facilities for ADVENT burgers. It was a little odd that the operative hid the data there, but the soldiers had all seen weirder things before so it wasn't entirely unheard of.

"Mate I always wondered what they put in their burgers to make them so appetizing?" said Lucifer to Reaper as both were testing out their new blades. Lucifer was in the process of swinging his machete horizontally, while Reaper had exchanged his machete for a katana that he was practicing with on an imaginary target.

"No idea wasn't really that interested." replied Reaper in his bored tone as he was trying to remain focused on the enemy he was fighting against.

"You alright James, you seem nervous?" asked Dozer with her words a little skewed by her accent. She had just finished applying her war paint that would hopefully intimidate some of the enemies that she would face today.

"Yeah, I just hope I don't screw up while I'm out there." said the once resistance contact. James had traded in his old blood-soaked clothing for a new set of the XCOM armor and had put his own spin on it by dying the entire thing bright yellow, while still keeping his backwards Milwaukee Brewers™ ball cap, glasses, and his father's dog tags around his neck. When he'd first stepped out to join the group they all had the same collective thought:

' _At least we'll be able to easily find him in a crowd.'_

James also had a Gremlin flying around his person that he had named "Scooter", as well as a Medikit strapped to his left hip.

"You'll do fine, besides you have us watching your back out there, so there's nothing to worry about." replied Dozer reassuringly.

"I hope so." replied James, as the lights turned from green to red indicating their arrival at the drop zone.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Dozer as she led the three men off of the Skyranger and onto the muddy ground below.

* * *

== On the Ground ==

The four troopers disconnected from their fast ropes and saw that the factory where the data was hidden was directly in front of them down the street. Wanting to avoid being spotted easily, the squad split up with Dozer and Reaper heading down the left side of the street shielded by a decaying white picket fence, and Lucifer and James breaking right behind some parked cars. No sooner had they did that then a patrol was spotted in front of the meat packing plant. A two man squad of an Officer and a trooper were moving towards the left side of the plant while remaining vigilant of their surroundings.

* * *

== With Dozer and Reaper ==

"Looks like they're taking us seriously now be ready for anything." said Dozer into her radio.

"Copy/Roger that mate/Acknowledged Dozer." was the three replies from Reaper, Lucifer, and James respectively as the team made their way to set up an ambush for the patrol.

Reaper took cover behind a rock that was in the middle of the land they were walking on, as Dozer moved forward to the intersection and took cover behind a light pole. Looking back to see Reaper have his weapon steadied and giving her the nod to begin, she hoisted her Minigun up and took aim at the female officer as her bullets flew through the air towards the unsuspecting target. The officer took several shots through her back armor before falling face-forward onto the ground no doubt paralyzed and slowing losing the ability to breathe. In a panic, the trooper turned and looked all around for the shots, and spotted Dozer, but before she could move she was interrupted by a shot.

"BANG!" the bullet flew from Reaper's gun barrel as it whizzed through the air and found its mark in the center of the trooper forehead, cracking the helmet visor and splattering yellowish blood onto the ground behind her as the bullet exited the back of her skull and impacted into the dirt. The body shot backwards a few feet due to the impact and remained motionless on the cold muddy ground as the last breath was exhaled from the trooper's body.

"Requiescat in Pace." said Reaper as he slung his rifle over his back and pulled out his sidearm before moving forward to join Dozer at the intersection.

"We've been spotted you two, be careful in there." said Dozer into her comms.

"Roger that Dozer, we're breaching the factory's east entrance now." said James in response as the two soldiers moved up to the building's southwest corner and spotted a second floor landing that Reaper climbed up a drain pipe with minimal effort to reach as he took cover along the building's wall and peeked into the factory, while Dozer moved to a window on the first floor and peeked over it into the facility at the same time.

* * *

== With Lucifer and James ==

"You ready for this rookie?" asked the Aussie as the two were currently on either side of the loading dock entrance to the factory.

"As ready as I'll ever be." replied James as he grabbed the handle of the loading dock's door and pulled upward as it made some metallic scratching noises as it was raised to its highest point to allow the two to gain entry into the facility. Moving forward quickly, the two soldiers took cover behind some machinery as they saw the conveyer belt filed with unfinished meat patties that looked to be made of some liquid instead of actual meat.

"So that's what they make it of!" said Lucifer as his face turned green and he had to resist the urge to vomit his lunch back up."

"What's more surprising is that nobody questioned what was in the burgers until now, I mean when was the last time you saw a cow?" said Shen over the comms, and the two had to pause and concede her point as they couldn't recall when was the last time a cow had been seen by the two of them.

"As disturbing as that is, we have to secure the intel and I believe its signal is coming from the office over there." Said James to get the mission back on track, Lucifer nodded as the two advanced slowly towards the office's door. Opening it, the two glanced in to see the resistance member's dead body on the floor from multiple magnetic rounds and what appeared to be a plasma round as well. The shots weren't in vital areas either, it was done deliberately to maximize the suffering of the operative to try and no doubt get her to reveal the location of the data he had stolen.

"My god!" exclaimed James as he looked away at the scene having never seen something like this before.

"These wankers will pay for what they've done!" exclaimed Lucifer as his eyes were glossed over with anger at the site before him.

"Focus you two!" said Dozer over the radio.

"Reaper and I have you covered, just get the intel."

The two nodded and were preparing to move into the office, but saw a glint of black armor to their left near the office's other door. Knowing that ADVENT was lying in wait, running forward would be disastrous as they would just be shot in the back as they were gathering the data. Thinking quickly, James motioned for Lucifer to face towards his left as ADVENT would no doubt try to flank them once the data was secured; he then looked to his Gremlin that was passively floating around him at the moment.

"Fetch Scooter." said James as he pointed towards the computer terminal and the Gremlin got the meaning. Flying forward the Gremlin stopped in front of the terminal and extended its appendages as it typed a few commands into the computer and removed the flash drive with the information, before having to dodge numerous magnetic rounds as it bobbed and weaved back to James' side.

"I've got the data!" exclaimed James as he placed the flash drive into his right pants pocket before focusing on the enemy in front of them.

"Here they come, and boy are they mad!" he shouted to his comrades as they all readied for the upcoming battle.

* * *

== Battlefield View (Commander's POV in game) ==

Two troopers and a Sectoid came bursting around the corner as they attempted to flank the two soldiers, but they were met with a shotgun blast from Lucifer as the lead trooper had no time to react before receiving buckshot to his face as he fell back lifeless, the other two fell back into position behind the stairs for cover as another Sectoid and trooper busted into the office. James concentrated his fire on the trooper and dropped him before he could react as the other Sectoid tried firing its plasma pistol at him, but was dropped by a sniper rifle bullet before it could do anything of the sort courtesy of Reaper.

"Requiescat in Pace." said Reaper as he overlooked the proceedings below him. The remaining ADVENT forces were in disarray as they watched their comrades fall before firing any shots. The confusion allowed for James to fall back to Dozer's position with the data as he dove through the window onto the ground outside before rolling into a crouch and laying down suppressive fire on the alien's hiding place behind the stairs. He watched as the Sectoid peaked its head out from the stairwell and launched a wave of purple energy towards him after throwing it into the air before hand.

Reaper then felt a presence trying to take over his mind as if compelling him to fire on his teammates that were below him as he was slowly training his sights on Lucifer's position. Before he could pull the trigger though, he felt another presence in his mind force the first one out and back over to the Sectoid that looked as equally surprised as he did. Before it could react further, he quickly trained his sights on its massive head before pulling the trigger and watching its brain matter splattering the wall behind it as it fell backwards lifelessly.

Staring at it for a moment longer as he pondered what just happened, before dismissing it and focusing back on the battle below.

"Requiescat in Pace motherfucker."

Lucifer watched his comrade with interest as he saw what had just transpired during Reaper's mind battle and he was intrigued but also worried for his comrade as he watched the energy surround him before being shot back out violently moments later.

' _What the hell just happened?'_

"Lucifer get ready to charge, Grenade out!" exclaimed Dozer breaking him from his musings as he watched her load a grenade into her launcher before launching it in an ark towards the wooden stairwell where the aliens were hiding. The grenade bounced twice before stopping right behind the stairwell and exploded violently as it launched wooden splinters and metal shrapnel everywhere. Looking back out after the grenade's detonation, Lucifer noticed another dead trooper on the floor, before noticing an unseen Officer that was holding his eyes with one hand as blood seeped through his clenched fingers, while his other hand was spraying bullets wildly at his attackers in front of him.

Not needing to be told twice Lucifer rushed forward as he skillfully dodged ever magnetic round fired at him with an impressive roll to his right, a slide to his left, and a pirouette to dodge one well placed bolt, before he grabbed his machete from his right leg holster and jumped in the air while performing a diagonal slash on the Officer before landing to the Officer's right. The blade bisected the officer from his left shoulder to his right hip as he fell to the ground feebly clutching his face and chest to stop the bleeding. He stopped struggling less than a minute later as he ceased to move.

Lucifer noticed something on the Officer's gun, and picked it up to reveal what appeared to be a Scope and a Repeater. Knowing that they were desperate for materials, Lucifer took his time to remove both from the gun without damaging them as the others swept the rest of the building to find it clear.

"Area is secure Strike One. Gather up the bodies and equipment before prepping for exfil, Firebrand will be here shortly." said Central over the radio after a scan of the area was done to ensure no other hostile signatures were present.

"Understood Central, Strike One out." replied Dozer as she signaled for the others to begin the collection process.

While moving some of the bodies, Lucifer and Reaper were away from the others as they carried some of the bodies outside to where Firebrand could easily pick them all up. Lucifer figured now would be as good as any to ask him what happened.

"Oi Reaper, what the hell happened during the mission?!" asked Lucifer in a hushed tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about." said Reaper in his normal apathetic/bored tone.

"Yes you damn well do! You almost shot me when that Sectoid was psionically attacking you, but then you somehow managed to overpower him and blew his face off if I remember correctly!" angrily exclaimed Lucifer.

"I have no idea, but it's none of your business. I will figure it out on my own." replied Reaper as he showed a small amount of anger before quickly hiding it and returning to his normal tone as he walked away leaving the Aussie even more baffled.

' _What are you hiding Reaper? I should inform the Commander of this when we get back to base.'_ thought Lucifer as he finished stacking the bodies and waited for Firebrand to appear and take them back to the base.

* * *

 **AN: And cut, that's a wrap on this chapter. What is going on with Reaper? And why does Lucifer care so much? Find out in another installment of the story, also don't forget to review or PM and let me know how I did with the action and story elements. I want to make this the best it possibly can be and I'd like your guys' feedback. Anyway, until next time this is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **-Prak #TheNastyOne**


	8. Keeping in Contact

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION! Sorry for the wait, but here's the next chapter for "XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors".**

 **Chapter 8: Keeping in Contact**

* * *

== Back at Base ==

Firebrand had just returned to the Avenger as it was dropping off the squad whom just returned from the burger factory. James handed over the intelligence on the disk to Bradford as he went off to the analysts to decode the Intel they'd received. The Research department came out to retrieve the dead bodies for autopsy, as the Engineering department gathered up the weapon fragments and scavenged supplies from Lucifer as they took it back for observation and building purposes. The Commander then stepped forward as he appraised the squad before him.

"You'll did an excellent job out there as you managed to not only avoid getting shot, but completed the objective and eliminated the ADVENT force present in the area. All in all I must say a flawless mission people." he said as he applauded their efforts and was joined by those present on deck. After which he held up his hands for silence as he had more to say.

"Because of this fact, one of you has earned promotions for their performance and experience out in the field. This person that has been promoted to Corporal is Reaper!" said the Commander as everyone applauded him.

"Go ahead and get some rest as you never know when the next mission is going to pop up unannounced, dismissed."

Following the order the team disbanded as three of the four soldiers went off to get some rest in the Living Quarters, while the fourth remained behind as he approached the Commander.

"Sir, permission to speak to you about something?" said Lucifer as he faced the Commander's gaze.

"Certainly Lucifer, what's on your mind?" asked the Commander, though he had an idea about what Lucifer wished to discuss.

"Well I'm sure that you watched the mission footage to ensure that we succeeded?"

"I did. And I'm going to guess this is about what happened with Reaper and the Sectoid?"

"Yes, sir. He almost shot me, and I've never seen someone whose been able to resist a psionic attack like that. What exactly was that?"

"Well, this is something that I've seen occur before as some of our soldiers possess "the gift" as the aliens referred to it during the first war. This is the ability to use psionic abilities in addition to firing their weapons. I know about this because Smokey possess the same ability as Reaper." explained the Commander as he watched Lucifer's eyes widen as he processed the last bit of information.

"He does?! But, I've never seen him use those abilities either in combat or back here in his spare time." replied the bewildered Aussie.

"He's got superb control over his abilities; he'll only bring them out if it's absolutely necessary. Now I ask you to keep this information secret as we can't reveal it to him until we get Psionic research done again and have a place for him to train them in a safe environment."

"Understood sir, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something wrong with him that's all. Can't have one of my comrades being possessed by ADVENT now can we?" he replied as he saluted the Commander and left for the living quarters as well.

"No we cannot Lucifer, now we cannot." said the Commander to nobody in particular as he walked back to his room.

* * *

== Five Days Later ==

The call had come in late on Friday evening and was in the wee hours of Saturday morning that Firebrand was dispatched to another resistance mission site where XCOM's help was sorely needed. Inside, four soldiers were doing their best to stay awake as the Skyranger headed to Tijuana, Mexico.

"Ugh. If there's one thing I hated about my time in the resistance, it was the early morning missions before sunrise." Vega said tiredly towards her neighbor as she turned her head away to let out a loud yawn.

"Aw come on Gabby it's not that bad." replied Jensen enthusiastically as it appeared as though the early morning time had no effect on him whatsoever.

"How can you be so damn energetic?" asked Vega who looked ready to strangle him for disturbing her attempt to go back to bed.

"Worked on a farm remember, I'm used to being up so early. Here have the rest of my coffee that I'm not going to drink anyway." replied the former farmer as he handed her his freshly poured cup.

"Thanks Kyle." she replied as she greedily drank the cup.

Vega and Jensen had traded in their old clothing for some new threads like James had done. Vega now sported a black and green camouflaged version of the new XCOM uniform as well as holding on to her resistance assault rifle that was now refinished in a black paint scheme. Kyle was now wearing a light blue combat vest with matching light blue cargo pants that brought out his blue eyes, while also still holding on to his Chase Rice camo hat, and now had a machete strapped to his left leg. His shotgun had some engraving on the side of it that read "This gun is dedicated to my family, here's to blowing apart some ADVENT and Alien heads to honor you guys."

Sitting across from them were two veterans of the old war against the aliens and they were engaged in their own conversation to keep themselves awake.

"How are things going for you Deadeye? You hanging in there okay?" asked Smokey since it'd been awhile since he'd conversed with Strike Two's sniper.

"As good as can be expected Smokey. I'm still not exactly over Sandy's death but I'm managing as best I can." replied the Alabama native as he readjusted his eye patch over his now empty left eye socket.

"Hang in there dude. You'll make it through this I just know you will." replied the ever-optimistic Argentina native as he fixed his black beanie.

' _I sure hope so. I'd hate to turn into what Lockdown has now become. She's not even the same person that she was before.'_ thought Bernard as he looked down at his tattoos.

' _I don't even think that I'm the same person.'_ he thought to himself. He would've thought more, but the quiet was broken by Bradford coming on screen.

"Alright Strike One listen up, we've got word that the resistance has set up a data tap in a residential neighborhood to get information on the whereabouts of two engineers and one scientist that have been on the run from ADVENT for awhile. The trio started out in Canada and made their way south to reach us, but had to veer off last minute when ADVENT ambushed them and forced them to take cover somewhere nearby. Your mission has become twofold, first you must protect the data tap from ADVENT as they attempt to destroy it, and then you must rescue the trio before anything happens to them. Take out anyone in your way, Central out."

"You heard the man, lock and load." said Smokey as the group got their stuff prepped and ready to go.

"Five minutes till drop Smokey." said Firebrand from the cockpit as she began the descent towards the Earth.

"Roger that."

After a tense five minutes, the Skyranger held up as the ramp lowered and the ropes fell towards the ground.

"Deploy!" shouted Smokey over the engines as the squad of four moved towards the exit and descended to the Earth below via the provided ropes.

* * *

== On the Ground ==

The squad of four carefully observed their surroundings as they didn't see any nearby contacts allowing them to remain concealed from ADVENT. Smokey motioned for the others to gather around him as he drew a rough map of the area on the ground.

"Alright, we got a lucky drop as the uplink is right inside this house in front of us. So we'll secure the inside and set up a defensive position for ADVENT when they arrive. Deadeye and Vega will take the second floor and set up positions near the windows overlooking the northern part of the building. I'll take the window overlooking the western approach on the first floor, and Jensen you'll take the door on the eastern side of the building since that's where they'll most likely try to enter from. Nobody fires until they're either fully inside, or they spot us and move to cover, understood?" he received three nods of affirmation as he returned them in turn.

"Great, move out carefully."

The four approached the door as they stacked up on both sides with Vega on the right and Jensen on the left immediately next to the door, Smokey was behind Jensen as Deadeye was behind Vega.

"On three guys. Three!" whispered Jensen as he turned the door knob and leveled his Shotgun at the open doorway. Not seeing anything in the hallway he advanced slowly down it as Vega followed with Smokey and Deadeye behind them. Reaching the end, Jensen motioned for Vega to look right as he looked left. The two jumped out simultaneously as they noticed a living room and kitchen respectively both of which looked rundown and abandoned. Noticing the sliding door in the kitchen, Jensen knew this was going to be his position for the ambush. Not seeing anything, Jensen motioned for the group to move upstairs in the same formation.

Reaching the top of the stairs, the group was on a landing with two doors which were revealed to be bedrooms upon breaching them in a similar manner to the front door. Not finding anybody in either one, the group relaxed a little as they moved to set up their ambush.

Jensen moved back down to the kitchen as he shut the front door of the house first, before sitting in the corner that was in the door's blind spot for anyone entering the house. Smokey moved to the data uplink in the living room as he took cover by the bay window which seemed out of place in a house like this. Vega took the bigger master bedroom on the right as she set up her assault rifle on the window sill that gave her a great view of the neighboring house behind their current one. Deadeye was in the smaller guest bedroom as he set up his sniper rifle on the other windowsill as he got a good look at the alley that was on the west side of the house. It had a couple of breaks in the fence that would allow him to see any movement down the alley. The fence would serve as full cover for the troops, but it was paper thin which would allow his sniper rifle rounds to penetrate it and hit anyone unfortunate enough to be hiding behind there. Before doing anything else, Dickey also opened his pistol holder as he looked down at his .44 Magnum that had been a gift from Ghost after he'd heard that he was promoted to a Sniper after the base invasion mission during the first war.

' _Just in case I need it.'_

The squad then waited for ADVENT to make their move.

* * *

== Ten Minutes later ==

The squad waited for what felt like an eternity, before ADVENT made their presence known.

"Smokey I have contacts moving down the alley on the right flank. Looks like an officer and two troopers." whispered Deadeye into his radio ear piece as he saw them meandering down the alley towards the northern part of the house.

"Copy that Deadeye, I have contact to the north as well, appears to be one Sectoid and one trooper. Vega, Jensen anything on your ends?"

"I see the same two guys as you Smokey." whispered Vega.

"I see another group of the same thing approaching the kitchen door Smokey." replied Jensen as he peeked out through the glass door.

"Alright, those two are probably going to breach the house since they don't know we're already here. Jensen take out the Sectoid first after they've both advanced into the house."

"Roger that; locked and loaded." said Jensen as he pumped his shotgun to place a shell in the chamber.

"Vega aim for the trooper in front, I'll take out the Sectoid since my cannon is better for damage."

"Understood, Smokey."

"Deadeye you know the drill, don't let those guys hit our flank."

"On it brother."

"Alright, radio silence from here on out."

The squad all tensed as they heard the sliding door squeak open immediately after Smokey finished his orders. The Sectoid entered the house first, followed closely by the trooper who appeared to be its handler. The two walked towards the center of the house and spotted the relay, before also spotting Smokey who was leaning against it. The two reacted immediately and raised their weapons to fire before hearing movement behind them as a voice shouted in a Tennessean accent:

"Surprise Motherfuckers!"

No sooner had those words been said, then a shotgun blast was heard as the Sectoid's head disintegrated into nothing but brain matter as the 12 gauge shell ripped it apart. As it fell lifeless to the ground, the trooper spun around with Smokey all but forgotten and tried to aim his rifle at the mountain of a man. Sadly for him, the mountain was deceptively fast as he quickly covered the eight foot distance between them and lodged his machete into the trooper's throat. The trooper dropped its weapon as it reached weakly for the machete that was still lodged in its trachea sideways with the sharp end pointed upwards. Jensen then looked down into the trooper's visor where he assumed its eyes were and said to it in a voice devoid of all caring and happiness that was instead replaced with loathing and anger:

"You people took my family from me, I'm going to make sure to send all your friends and family your way real soon." and to emphasize his point, he dragged his machete upwards as it split the trooper's helmet and head in two as the blood sprayed all over Jensen as he wiped the stuff off of his blade and face onto his already stained uniform.

"Everyone fire!" shouted Smokey as the other three soldiers opened fire on their intended targets.

* * *

== With Smokey and Vega ==

The two soldiers hit their targets as the trooper fell down bleeding from multiple shots to the torso, while the Sectoid was hit, but managed to get back behind the cover of one of the fences separating the two houses.

"Vega suppress that Sectoid's position!" yelled Smokey as he loaded up his grenade launcher.

"On it, sir!" replied Vega as she lay down multiple rounds on the Sectoid's location. It responded in kind by throwing a psionic attack at Vega that ended up disorienting her.

"Ah, what's happening? Everything is spinning." said Vega as she stopped firing to reorient herself and stop the spinning. Hearing the shots stop, the Sectoid peeked out to see where those shots were coming from, but ended up looking at a frag grenade that was arcing its way toward its position. The grenade landed and exploded on impact as it sent splinters of wood into the Sectoid as it fell over and bled out without much of a fight.

"Enemy down." said Smokey as he and Jensen headed outside to clean up and stragglers.

* * *

== With Deadeye ==

Deadeye unleashed his first round, which tore into the officer's head as it fell lifeless to the hard ground when the squad had stopped to listen to the gunfire coming from inside the house. As the officer fell to the ground, the two troopers split up and headed behind two separate sections of the wooden fence. Deadeye followed the trooper that broke towards his left ahead of the officer's corpse and he lined up his shot, before firing it through the fence and into the unsuspecting trooper's chest dead center. Deadeye watched as the body fell out from the fence unmoving giving him a sense of satisfaction.

' _Now where's the last one?'_ he thought as he scanned the right section of fence and didn't see any movement from it, as he observed tracks heading towards the house in front of it.

' _Shit! He's smarter than the average trooper, wait a minute wasn't there another window with a drain pipe next to it on back on the landing?'_

Deadeye dropped his rifle as he quickly turned around and pulled out his Magnum and cocked the hammer back as he kicked the door leading back out there open and saw the trooper halfway crawled through the window. The two froze and stared at one another as they both observed the situation before them. The trooper reached down for her rifle, but Deadeye pulled the trigger and hit her square center of the visor. Her head flew back from the impact and smacked the windowsill before falling back out the window and landing on the ground with a sickening crunch of broken bones. Vega came out of the room hearing the commotion with her rifle raised, but dropped it as she saw Deadeye with his smoking barrel pointed towards the window.

"Where's the enemy?"

"Flat as a pancake on the ground outside, have a look." he said as he motioned towards the window while placing his pistol back in its holster. Vega obliged and looked out before whistling at the damage. Looking back towards him, the two nodded before heading back downstairs to regroup with the others.

* * *

== Outside with Smokey and Jensen ==

The two had moved towards the trooper struck down by Vega's bullets as he weakly tried to crawl away from them. He appeared to be reaching for something in the dirt, but Smokey stomped on it when he realized it was a radio. Jensen then flipped the trooper over as he aimed the shotgun at its face.

"Where are the workers?!" he asked/demanded with the shotgun being pumped to emphasize the fact that he wasn't joking around. The trooper looked up at him in what seemed to be defiance since he spat blood and saliva onto Jensen's face. Jensen then proceeded to wipe the spit off before he smacked his shotgun down onto the trooper's right knew shattering it. The trooper screamed out in pain, but didn't say anything so Jensen looked to Smokey for confirmation, before unloaded a round into the trooper's face ending him.

"Worthless scum!" said Jensen as the other two met up with them having watched the event unfold.

"He refused to talk?" asked Deadeye as Smokey and Jensen nodded in confirmation.

"Figures, they always were a stubborn and stupid kind." said Vega as she looked at the body in disgust. Their radios then came to life as Central came over the radio.

"Strike One, we have the group's location, they're on a nearby rooftop awaiting you guys."

"Roger that Central. Let's move people!" said Smokey as the group headed north further into the slums.

* * *

== Five Minutes Later ==

The group moved quickly through the streets, but didn't encounter anymore contact as they approached the convenience store where the distress call came from. Smokey then signaled for Jensen and Vega to secure the rooftop via a ladder around the back of the store while he and Deadeye cleared out the inside. The two moved around the back as they slowly climbed up the rungs as they reached the rooftop with Jensen in front. As he fully stepped onto the roof, a shot hit ground near his foot from what sounded like a pistol as he dove behind an air conditioner for cover.

"Check fire friendlies!" he shouted as Vega stayed on the ladder to avoid being shot.

"Hold off Eddy! Apologies, but show yourself slowly to prove it." replied a high-pitched and educated voice as Jensen did as he was told and moved out from behind the air conditioner with his hands raised.

"O thank God, we thought you'd never get here! Come on out guys and Eddy lower the pistol they're with XCOM." said a man wearing a red t-shirt with dark blue jeans, a pair of blue sneakers and a black beanie that had black hair poking out the back.

"Sorry about that friend, ADVENT's been hounding us for weeks. We've been a little on edge if you couldn't tell." replied a much shorter male wearing a yellow bowling short and blue jeans with red sneakers. He had only three hairs on his head that each stuck up separate from the others as well as a cleft in his chin.

Vega then joined the three on the roof as she had relaxed knowing that there weren't any enemies on the roof.

"Weren't there three of you guys?" she asked.

"Yeah hold on." replied the shorter male known as Eddy. He walked over to where there was another set of air conditioners as he looked at the ground and sighed seeing the last member of the trio was asleep still and snoring away rather loudly. He took in a great breath of air before yelling down at the figure:

"WAKE UP LUMPY!"

The third person jolted awake as he looked everywhere around him for enemies, but relaxed when he saw none present.

"Hiya Eddy!" he said in a dopey voice with a grin, before standing up to almost rival Jensen in height, but was actually one inch shorter than him.

"Shut up Ed. XCOM is here to get us." said Eddy.

"Yay, more friends for Ed!" he shouted as he rushed over to them and gave them a big bear hug.

"Um Ed, I don't think they can breathe." said the high-pitched male as he noticed the blue faces Jensen and Vega were sporting.

Ed sheepishly dropped them as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry Double D, sometimes I don't know my own strength, it's all the gravy and buttered toast." said the big guy who was dressed in a red and white striped shirt under a green jacket with blue jeans, and black sneakers sporting a red goatee and red hair stylized in a part to the right side of his head.

This was the scene Smokey and Deadeye stumbled upon as they entered from the door leading down into the store. Jensen saw them and decided to play a prank on them.

"Look Ed more friends." said Jensen as he pointed towards the two.

"Ahahaha." Said the bog guy as he ran to them and engulfed them in their own bear hug as Jensen and Vega laughed at their predicament.

"Why must you encourage him." sighed Eddy as he watched Ed embarrass them further.

"O come now Eddy, he's just being friendly." replied Double D as he chuckled at the situation.

Once the two were released and regained their breath, the three workers introduced themselves to XCOM.

"I'm Ed Callahan and I love chickens, gravy, and buttered toast!" exclaimed the big guy.

"I'm Eddward "Double D" Vincent, and I'm a scientist looking into making scientific breakthroughs for your cause." said the high-pitched male.

"And I'm Eddy McGee a engineer with a knack for fixing anything mechanical whether it be cars, trucks, motorcycles, planes, robots, or sentries." said the short male.

"And together we're known as the Eds!" shouted the three in unison as the group all thought one thing collectively.

' _Things definitely won't be boring back at base.'_

"Welcome aboard, now let's get out of here. Firebrand come and pick us up at the location marked with blue smoke. VIPs are secure and ready to come home."

"Roger that Strike One, en route for extraction and return to base."

* * *

 **AN: And cut! Hope you guys enjoyed the newest chapter in Strike One's exploits for the resistance effort. I also hope you enjoyed the introduction of Ed, Edd n Eddy into the story as I had the idea struck me as I was planning the chapter out. Remember to leave a review to let me know how I'm doing with my writing, and don't forget to follow and favorite the story. Until next time, this is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	9. Those Monsters

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!**

 **Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter for this story. Last time, the Ed boys were rescued by XCOM from ADVENT's clutches. Now as we move forward, the team will come face to face with two new dangers as they face their first retaliation mission. What will happen? Let's find out!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Those Monsters**

The skyranger returned to the Avenger with three extra bodies in tow as the Ed boys were excited to get started on their work with helping take down ADVENT. Upon reaching the base, the staff came and retrieved the bodies and gear, while Dr. Tygan took Double D down to the Research area to get him acquainted with the area as well as get him his identification papers and room. Ed and Eddy both accompanied Shen down to the Engineering department where Ed got to work excavating a new area for future usage while Eddy helped with the completion of a power relay to get the ship more power.

The Commander approached the squad as they went about the Barracks removing their gear and putting the weapons back into the Armory for cleaning. The four gave him the customary salute and relaxed knowing that he liked to keep things casual around the base.

"Another great mission people, couldn't have run things any better myself."

The squad perked up at that and gave him a chorus of thanks before he moved onto the reason he'd come over.

"Smokey you've been promoted to Corporal, so what ability would you like to train for future missions? Blast Padding or Shredder?"

After pondering the choices for a little bit Smokey reached a decision.

"I'll train for Blast Padding, Commander. I've always been more defensive minded anyway."

"Understood Smokey, dismissed guys. Rest up and be prepared because we never know when and where ADVENT will strike next."

* * *

== Four Days Later ==

Tygan and Double D both had managed to discover the reason for the chip that was implanted in the Commander's skull. It appeared as though ADVENT was using him as their main strategist to control their officers and troops in the field, which explained why Bradford had a tough time running the resistance alone against them. But, the plus side showed that their plans were fading quickly since the Commander was disconnected from the network. Tygan recommended building a proving ground facility for them to construct a Skulljack to reconnect to ADVENT's network and find out more about the Avatar Project they were currently pursuing.

With this new information, Shen instructed Ed to build the facility in the recently cleared debris he had finished moving, while Eddy continued monitoring the power facility while sporadically checking in on the Guerilla Tactics School to make sure it was still powered and clean. With no new rookies yet, it was an eerily quiet place to be but it was perfect as a meditation place that Reaper and Tower both used from time to time to be alone.

While the troops were either relaxing or hanging out at the bar, the Commander and Bradford were in contact with one of the resistance haven leaders known as "Den Mother."

"Nothing on the local comms, ADVENT's been pretty quiet lately. Guess we have you to thank for that." said Den Mother via video feed.

"Our pleasure Den Mother. Enjoy it while it lasts." replied Bradford with a smile.

"We plan to. Our water purification system..." the rest of her transmission was cut off as static started interfering with the connection. One analyst made an announcement as to what the cause was.

"Massive signal coming in from the ADVENT Network Tower, it's global. Sir, I think you'll want to see this."

"Put it on screen." ordered the Commander as the second screen shifted to showing ADVENT's speaker giving a propaganda speech to a mass of civilians.

"Fellow citizens, for 15 years the ADVENT coalition has worked tirelessly to repair the ravages and injustices of the old world. Under our stewardship, our cities prosper, our people flourish, and our world heals. And yet, among us there are still those who would refuse to acknowledge the truth! Who are determined to see all that we have achieved crumble!..."

The speech was briefly interrupted as the Geoscape showed multiple ADVENT fighters heading towards Den Mother's safe haven.

"...That must end. Even as I speak to you today, ADVENT peacekeepers are advancing into outlying territories to end this scourge once and for all. We will ensure your safety and well-being throughout this crisis..."

The rest of the speech was ignored as Bradford quickly tries to reestablish connection to Den Mother as he realizes the situation.

"Get your people out of there, you have multiple contacts coming in!"

"Your signal is breaking up!"

"They're right on top of you!"

"I'm losing you Avenger!"

"Raise them again!"

But it was futile, as Den Mother looked up to see the ADVENT drop ships and fighters begin strafing her camp as the communication hub next to her exploded into nothing as she was engulfed by the flames and thrown to the ground a few meters away. She was unable to move as she could only watch as ADVENT relentlessly and mercilessly attack her people that she'd tried so hard to save.

"They don't stand a chance. Commander we need to get a squad ready to deploy." said Bradford.

"Already on it John! Contact Firebrand and get her ready in ten. We're going to make them regret doing this to us!"

* * *

== On the Skyranger ==

The flight over was deathly quiet as the entire squad was lost in their own thoughts regarding what had happened just moments prior. "Dozer" looked over the squad she'd be given command of to take action against the ADVENT retaliation mission that was currently underway. She herself had already cleaned and loaded her minigun and grenade launcher that was primed for action. The soldier immediately to her right was Sq. Isabella "Lockdown" Maroni a veteran of XCOM's first war. She had just recently gotten out of the infirmary and with her new machete and shotgun in tow, she was looking amped up for combat despite the somber mood in the aircraft.

 _'I hope her addiction to combat and fighting in general doesn't get her killed.'_ thought Dozer as she moved to the person sitting across from Lockdown. James was quietly strumming his guitar as he stared ahead at nothing in particular. He appeared to be in shock at ADVENT's blatant attack against unarmed civilians as not even his drone Scooter could break the yellow-wearing Specialist out of his trance.

 _'Poor kid. I think this war is going to take a toll on his mental well-being. Hopefully he won't break under the pressure and can keep it together out there.'_

Moving her gaze to the last member of the squad, she noticed him leaning back with his eyes closed as he was listening to music from his IPod Touch that never left his side no matter the situation. The song he was listening to sounded like "Remember Everything" by Five Finger Death Punch as he ran his hand through his thick reddish-brown beard.

 _'Good thing Ghost is on this mission with us. I need someone I can rely on to get the job done and he's one of the few that can do that without worrying me.'_

The screen in the Skyranger then lit up as Bradford came on screen to get their attention.

"As you all know, ADVENT just launched a retaliation strike against the civilian safe haven located near Mexico City, Mexico. We're going to need to move fast to save as many civilians as possible while simultaneously eliminating the ADVENT presence in the city. ADVENT came in hot and so will we, there will be no concealment on this mission so they will open fire once spotting you, don't be afraid to do so in kind. Good luck, Central out."

"Five minutes to deployment Dozer!" shouted the pilot over the engines.

"Understood Firebrand. You heard Central lock and load!"

The aircraft began its descent as the squad all performed their final equipment checks and got ready to dish out some payback. The lights then turned red as the ramp lowered and ropes fell towards the earth.

"Deploy!" shouted Dozer as she led the charge down the ropes and onto the forest floor below.

* * *

== At the Same Time as Firebrand was Flying to the Site ==

Den Mother was struggling to breathe as she laid on the ground covered in blood and dirt as she watched her fellow inhabitants run for cover from the ADVENT troops that were on the ground showing no mercy to anybody they encountered.

 _'I can't believe they found us. I failed to protect my citizens. So this is how it ends.'_

"MOM!" shouted a young voice as she looked up to see her adopted son Clay rush over to her and help prop her up against his body.

"Hello...son." she replied as it was difficult to speak and breathe.

"Don't leave me mom! I can't have this happen to me again!" said her son in despair as he tried to stop the massive bleeding.

"Son, it's too late for me... You need to get out of her before ADVENT finds you."

"But..."

"No arguing with me Clay... XCOM is already on the way to rescue the survivors, you need to join up with them and continue the fight to free our people... I know you can do this, and remember that your parents and I will always be with you no matter what... I love you son." she said as she exhaled her last breath and ceased to move in his arms.

Clay could only look on in sadness as he watched his last parental figure die before him and it was all due to ADVENT and their goal of peace and cooperation with the Elders. Clay stared at her for what seemed like hours as the world around him seemed to fade away as all of his attention was on the still face of his former guardian. He made the gesture to close her eyes for her, as he lowered his head to face the ground and all of his grief and sadness suddenly turned to anger.

 _'Those bastards just couldn't leave it alone could they. I swear to you Mom that I will avenge your deaths just like my parents'. These fuckers have just awakened the demon inside.'_ Clay thought as he stormed over to his living area inside a dilapidated house that had been refurbished as best they could. Kicking open the door, Clay moved over to the cot the bed that was furthest away from the door before reaching down and picking up a foot locker that contained an Assault rifle and pistol that he'd hidden away after illegally getting it from a dealer that sometimes visited the site. He also pulled out a couple throwing knives he picked up as well which he placed inside of his biker jacket that was now stained with his mom's blood.

He then shut it forcefully, before looking over to his window and grabbing his backpack which contained his guitar and writing materials before looking towards the door and fully loading his assault rifle and removing the safety.

 _'It's time to PLAY THE GAME!'_

* * *

== On the Ground ==

The squad landed on the ground as the raised their weapons and searched their immediate area, but found nothing in their vicinity except for some civilians that were cowering behind a wall in front of them which appeared to be a part of a church.

"Alright here's the plan, Lockdown you're on point take out anything in front of us. James you and I will provide backup for her while she leads us further into the haven. Watch the flanks. Ghost you get up in the church steeple and see if you can spot anybody that we can rescue, also take out any threats that are looking to surprise us. Any questions?"

Receiving a round of headshakes, Dozer used her hand signs to get them moving towards the church. Reaching it unopposed, the group came upon two civilians who were using the wall as cover.

"O thank God! We thought you'd never get here." said one hysterical man to the group.

"We're here to rescue you two, head back towards the woods. There's a clearing a couple hundred meters in with our ship docked in it. We'll take you back to the Avenger once the mission is over." ordered Dozer.

The two civilians nodded as they quickly raced to safety. The group then split up as Ghost scaled up a ladder to reach the church's bell steeple, while Lockdown moved forward further into the church's graveyard as she heard civilian screams coming from the other side.

Moving quickly, she almost didn't have time to duck as magnetic rounds came from an ADVENT trooper's gun as it whizzed past her face and struck the tombstone behind her. Kneeling down she took cover behind a crypt as she shouted for the others.

"We've got contact to the front!"

"Spread out and try to flank them! Ghost do you have eyes on them?"

"Sure do Dozer. Firing!" shouted Ghost as a sniper's bullet whizzed through the air and struck the trooper down before he could harm any more people. Lockdown was about to get up and charge the Sectoid that was with the trooper, but felt something enter her mind as it made her relieve the moment when she watched Dubois and Shipman die right in front of her.

"Get out of my head!" she shouted as she quickly panicked and opened fire on the Sectoid which wounded him and caused him to lose concentration on the attack. Lockdown then sat down and huddled her knees into her body in the fetal position as she openly wept about the memory.

Not wanting her to die, Watkins reacted quickly.

"Scooter provide Aid Protocol to Lockdown! Dozer suppress that fucker!" he shouted as he started running across the cemetery to another crypt on the Sectoid's left flank. Seeing a target, the Sectoid moved to shoot at him, but was pinned down by the accurate fire from Dozer's minigun ripping it's cover apart. With it effectively pinned, the Sectoid looked to move, but didn't have time to do so as Assault rifle bullets riddled its back and caused it to fall over unmoving as the light left its eyes.

"Enemy down!" said James as Lockdown and Dozer moved to regroup with him. Lockdown sent a silent nod of thanks to young man and his drone before moving forward into the battle once more as the civilian screams were growing more numerous with each passing second.

Reaching the cemetery fence, the squad peeked over to see a group of civilians that were under fire from two ADVENT troopers who were taking sport in which shot they could hit and which they couldn't. As they lined up another shot on the civilians, the sound of a grenade being launched filled their ears as they looked up to see a fragmentation grenade heading towards them. With no time to react, the grenade exploded in air between them sending shards of shrapnel and wood into their now lifeless bodies.

Moving forwards, the squad liberated the three civilians, before advancing into the communications area of the camp as they saw an ADVENT Officer and a new troop murdering two civilians that had no time to dodge the incoming attacks. One fell back from magnetic rifle rounds, while the other was stabbed by an electric shock baton as they were electrocuted until smoke came off of the body indicating that they'd been fried to death. A third civilian attacked to the group, turned and ran as the troops noticed XCOM's presence.

"ADVENT used to deploy these units as a part of crowd control before the attacks. However, they've recently become more violent in their attempts at maintaining peace." said Bradford over the comms, before the new soldier rushed towards their position with its baton powered up. The squad opened up with its reaction fire, as Lockdown's shot hit the Officer killing her instantly as the buckshot ripped open her chest. Dozer's minigun fire missed the oncoming Stun Lancer, as Watkins managed to wound him but didn't kill him. Ghost's sniper round hit the dirt in front of the Lancer's feet as it continued its advance towards Lockdown who was once again in front of the squad. The baton came to life as it powered up, and the Lancer swung its arm forward to stab Lockdown with it.

However, before it could make contact more rifle fire came from behind it, as it was flung forward by the force of the impact and died with its face down in the dirt while the baton fell harmlessly to the ground before turning off as there was no hand activating it anymore. The squad frantically looked around as they tried to identify where those shots rang out from.

"Whoever you are, show yourself! I'm not in the mood to be playing games!" shouted Lockdown at the area in front of them.

"And here I thought I'd get a thank you for saving your life you ungrateful asshat!" shouted a young voice that the squad heard clearly, but couldn't spot the owner of.

"Please come out, we only wish to know if you're willing to help us secure the rest of this place." said James as he took over before Lockdown got herself shot.

"Alright since you asked so nicely." said a man as he appeared on top of a shipping container that was where the radio equipment was once stored. He was almost as tall as Jenson and Tower, but was actually only 6' 5'', but he had them beat in the muscles department as he was 250 lbs of pure muscle. He was dressed in a black t-shirt with a black biker jacket over top of it with the sleeves ripped off exposing his arms. He also wore a pair of black sunglasses, black jeans, and a pair of black Under Armour® sneakers. But the two things that stood out about the male were his tattoos and his hair style. The male was sporting a barbed wire tattoo that encompassed his entire right bicep, while he had the same wolf tattoo as Deadeye in black running the entirety of his left arm. The male also had a full-length brown mohawk that stood a good four inches off of his head into the air with the rest of his head shaved, and he had a fully grown in brown beard that was stylized into dreads (like Chris Kael from Five Finger Death Punch).

"Thank you. I'm James Watkins, who are you?"

"Clay Levandowski, my adopted mother ran this place before the attack happened. She didn't make it." he replied in a cold and distant tone.

"My apologies Clay, these are my squadmates Sarah "Dozer" Kauffman and Isabella "Lockdown" Maroni." replied James as he motioned to the two women flanking him while saying this.

"Our sniper Eric "Ghost" Roberts is currently providing Overwatch from the church steeple behind us."

"Good to know. So you need some more help clearing out this assholes?"

"Always happy for more soldier." replied Dozer as she shook the muscular teen's hand.

"Although I don't think there's any more here though." said Maroni as she approached the civilian who survived the attack from the Officer and Stun Lancer. As she finished those words, the civilians body started to distort as it shifted into a ten foot tall monster that appeared to be made entirely out of pink goo as it stood there and pointed at the squad menacingly.

"We gotten word from the resistance about these shape shifters, but we didn't hold them in high belief." said Bradford over the radio.

"Remarkable! If only we had some means of containment." said Tygan aloud, before Shen interrupted him.

"Don't even think about it."

The squad was standing there in disbelief as they just watched a monster form before their eyes, before they were snapped out of their disbelief by rifle fire and a shout from the teenager.

"Don't just stand there gawking! Fire at will!" shouted Clay as he was joined by the squad in riddling the creature's body with lead as it fell back after a final round from Ghost's sniper rifle.

Not hearing any other enemies, the squad relaxed as they were getting ready to hunt for the rest of the civilians.

"Found them. They're on the roof of the shipping container where Clay came from." said Ghost over the radio as he looked through his scope.

"Oh yeah I told them to follow me since I knew you guys were coming and kind of forgot they were up there."

The others sweatdropped, but Dozer then motioned for them to follow them as they made their trek back to the Skyranger while also gathering up the ADVENT corpses for the research team back at the base.

* * *

 **AN: And cut! That's a wrap on that chapter as the team successfully countered the ADVENT retaliation and gained a new soldier in the process. Clay's info will be up on my profile for those who want to see it. As always leave a favorite and follow if you enjoy the story, and don't forget to review if there's something you want me to know about that needs improvement. Until next time, this is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **\- PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	10. End of Month Report

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!**

 **Hey guys! Sorry about the long break between updates, but I hit a spot of writer's block, and I got distracted by video games I've been playing. However, I've finally cleared the block and am ready to bring you this chapter. I do apologize for the brevity of it as well, but I felt like making you guys wait any longer would be a travesty. So with all that said, on with the story!**

 **Chapter 10: End of Month Report**

* * *

== On the Skyranger ==

The squad was heading back to base aboard Firebrand after having dropped off the surviving civilian populace at a nearby resistance safe haven where Clay said his goodbyes to those who knew him amongst them. Now the squad was sitting in silence as James and Clay were both strumming their respective guitars. The squad was feeling pretty good about the fact that they saved a majority of the surviving civilians and were in the mood for some good music.

"Hey James, you feel like playing a song for us?" asked Dozer as the young man perked up at that thought.

"Sure thing Dozer. Any requests?" he asked as Dozer shook her head indicating that she didn't have any, Ghost said it was his call, Lockdown said anything was good, and Clay just ignored him as he was lost in writing something in his notebook while strumming a few chords on his Gibson® M4 Sherman Explorer electric guitar that had a cherry background and his wolf tattoo in black on the upper part of the guitar's body.

"Alright then I guess I can pick out a song." he said as he sat back and thought about it for a little bit before making his decision.

"Hope you all enjoy this one." he said as he finished hooking up his guitar to the amplifier and began playing the backing music over the speakers he'd hooked up in Firebrand a few days prior.

"This one's for my family." (Song is actually "Safe to Say" by Valencia, all credit goes to them for writing it and performing it. James is only playing the lead guitar part and singing the lead vocals. Bolded text is louder than his normal singing voice.)

We watched the sunset and we told ourselves to never forget

Just how good it felt to be surrounded

By a town that we knew like the back of our hands

We felt alive, hoped for the very first time

Is it safe to say in the morning you'll come back?

And things will be the same

Cause since the day you left, you know I've

Had a hard time and I want you to know

If you hear these words won't you please just come back?

It's been a year now but I still appreciate the sundown

It reminds me somehow things will work out

And I'll fall to your arms, just like I'd always do

It felt so good, it was the very first time I felt alive

Yeah, so alive

Is it safe to say in the morning you'll come back?

And things will be the same

Cause since the day you left, you know I've

Had a hard time and I want you to know

If you hear these words, won't you please just come back?

*Insert small Guitar Solo and Instrumental Bridge which gets Progressively louder with each line in the next stanza*

If I could sing this out loud, I'd scream it to the clouds

And everyone in this town would know what I'm about

Rather die than feel this pain take me over again

It's so hard to let you go

Is it safe to **saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay**!?

Is it safe to say in the morning you'll come back?

And things will be the same

Cause since the day you left, you know I've

Had a hard time and I want you to know

If you hear these words won't you please just come back?

After the song was over and James had gathered himself after wiping his eyes. He bowed to the claps and cheers he was getting from everyone except Clay who nodded at his performance but showed a look of indifference about the whole song. Lockdown of course took exception to Clay's attitude and called him out on it for being a jackass.

"What the hell is wrong with you Clay?! The man just put everything into his performance and all you can do is nod?!"

James was getting ready to scold Lockdown for her behavior, but Clay was much faster in his response.

"First off you can kindly fuck right off! Or did you forget that I just lost my last parental figure on this Earth just a few hours ago?! Secondly, I don't really care for that type of music because of its poppy sound, however I do appreciate the message and emotion that James here put into it. I'm more into a different style of music that I'll show off for you if you guys would like." he said in an angry tone that dropped down back to indifference at the end while he continued to glare at Lockdown for her insulting comments.

"That sounds like a fine idea Clay. Here you can use my equipment just let me unplug my guitar. Do you have a soundtrack of your own on tap?" asked James kindly as he motioned for Lockdown to sit as he was very disappointed in her for her behavior.

Lockdown just sat down as she refused to meet the others' eyes as she thought about her recent actions.

 _'What have I become? I almost got us killed on that mission, and now I just viciously attacked the new guy for no reason at all. I'm going to need to apologize. Maybe he can help me overcome my problems?'_

"I actually do have my own set of music that I recorded myself before the attack happened." he stated warmly as he put the music in and strummed his guitar to have it tuned properly.

"You can play more than one instrument?" asked James curiously.

"Yeah I can play drums, bass guitar, keyboard, and violin if I'm pressed to." said Clay as he scratched the right side of his head. He wasn't used to getting this much interest in his musical abilities before so it was making him a little embarrassed though he'd never admit it.

 _'Maybe these asshats aren't so bad. Well besides Lockdown.'_

"Cool man. Well you're all set knock 'em dead dude." said James as he offered a high-five that Clay returned before stepping up with his guitar ready to perform.

"I figured that I'd perform something that'll get the blood pumping again and heads banging around here. Fuck ADVENT! Fair warning this is going to be loud!" exclaimed Clay as he began to play one of his own written songs. (Song is "Dot Your Eyes" by Five Finger Death Punch, all credit goes to them for writing and performing it. Clay is singing and play lead guitar done excellently by Ivan Moody and Jason Hook respectively. Bolded text is shouting, while everything else is normal singing.)

 **Bring it!**

My life is perfect, so you believe

Are you that stupid 'cause I strongly disagree

I'm not a martyr, more like a thief

Your rules are twisted and they don't affect me

You saw me comin', so why you runnin'

What's the matter? Its just little old me

I know your kind, you're fuckin´ blind

 **I give a shit, don't give a shit about anything**

 **There ain't nothin' in this world for free**

 **There's not a man, not a man I believe**

 **Give a rat's ass what you think about me**

 **I'll dot your I's and cross your fuckin t's (Bring it!)**

You're just a trend, it's gotta end

I stand in place while you mother fuckers bend

You own a clock? Your time is up

You bottom feeders it's just time to give up

Ready to throw down, this is a showdown

You get the memo? 'Cause it's all about to go down

I know I'm twisted, I can't resist it

 **I give a shit, don't give a shit about anything**

 **There ain't nothin' in this world for free**

 **There's not a man, not a man I believe**

 **Give a rat's ass what you think about me**

 **I'll dot your I's and cross your fuckin t's (Bring it!)**

 **There's nothin´ in this world for me**

 **I gave away, gave away fuckin´ everything**

 **This is the man that I'm choosing to be**

 **I'll dot your eyes and I'll cross your fuckin´ teeth (Bring it!)**

Pressures building, breaking down

Suffocating 'til I drown

*Insert Guitar Solo*

You know how the saying goes

It's not the size of the dog in the fight

Its the size of the fight in the dog

 **Yaaaaaaaaaaah!**

 **Bring it!**

 **There ain't nothin' in this world for free**

 **There's not a man, not a man I believe**

 **Give a rat's ass what you think about me**

 **I'll dot your I's and cross your fuckin' t's (Bring it!)**

 **There's nothin' in this world for me**

 **I gave away, gave away fuckin' everything**

 **This is the man that I'm choosing to be**

 **I'll dot your I's and I'll cross your fuckin' t's (Bring it!)**

As he finished and the last chord faded away the others got up and applauded him as he took of his shades to show off his chocolate brown eyes and bowed to them.

"Thank you I'll be here all week." he said jokingly as he cracked his first full smile as he was congratulated by the others even Lockdown who now understood his earlier actions.

"I'm sorry or calling you out like that Clay, it's just I've been going through a lot over the past five years..." she was going to say more but was interrupted by Clay who put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Don't worry about it Isabella. I can recognize the signs of someone coping with the loss of a loved one. If you ever want to talk, just come and find me. I'll usually be off meditating somewhere or writing some more lyrics in a quiet place." he said with a smirk as he put his stuff away as the ship was getting ready to land.

"Thanks Clay." she said as she hugged him before going back to her seat on the ship. Ghost, Dozer and James could only smile at the interaction between the two.

 _'I think she's starting to open back up to the world. Maybe bringing him back was a great idea.'_ thought the three of them as the Skyranger descended towards the landing platform.

* * *

== On the Ground ==

The squad descended the ramp to a round of cheers and applause from their fellow soldiers and the crew members aboard the ship. The squad basked in the excitement for a few moments but didn't let it go their heads. Clay walked down the ramp behind them and received a similar ovation as the people admired his bravery on the mission as well as his ability to recover from his surrogate mother's death which was captured on the still recording camera. Clay waved to them all and did a slight bow as he joined the others in standing at attention as the Commander arrived along with Bradford to address them.

"Excellent work out there Strike One! You successfully managed to stop ADVENT's retaliation attack, and even rescued a majority of the civilians alive on site. So with that said congrats are in order, give them another round of applause." said the Commander as the gathered crowd once again burst in a round of applause and cheers which lasted a few moments before the Commander raised his hand for silence. Once the crowd had quieted he continued.

"Because of your guys' performance some of you have earned some promotions. So the following soldiers have been promoted to Corporal...Ghost,...Dozer,...and Watkins. Each of you have shown more than enough skills to earn this. Lockdown you still need to go on one more mission before I can promote you so don't fret." said the Commander as the crowd once again erupted into applause as the named soldiers smiled and high-fived one another. Lockdown nodded in understanding at not being promoted, but still congratulated her squadmates. At this point Bradford stepped forward to get their perk training moving forward.

Ghost stepped up first to announce his choice. "I'd like to continue down the Gunslinger tree as I want to learn Return Fire." he said as Bradford made the notes on his clipboard and moved down the line to Dozer.

"I'd like to acquire Blast Padding so that way I can remain on the front lines and provide support with the extra armor." said the German as Bradford made the note before moving to Watkins who had finished consulting with Scooter.

"I think you know what I'm going to say, but I'll say it anyway. I'd like to learn Medical Protocol and act as the squad's official medic like I did back in the resistance." he said as Bradford nodded and showed the clipboard showing him that he had it already written down.

With that out of the way, the Commander turned his attention to Clay who had been standing there minding his own business and holding a conversation with Lockdown about her hometown back in Italy. Seeing him staring at them, Lockdown signaled him to face forward. With his full attention, the Commander continued.

"Clay, I know what you went through is something the nobody should ever have to go through. However, you showed excellent fortitude and discipline out in the field and I will grant your mother figure's last wish of you joining our ranks..." he was saying before the crowd applauded and Clay relished in the cheers and mouthed "thank you" to the Commander before the Commander nodded and got the crowd under control before continuing.

"...As I was saying, you now have the option of selecting what specialty you'd like to pursue while here as you'll be promoted to Squaddie after training in the Guerilla Tactics School. So which would you like?"

"What are my options?" asked the rebellious biker looking teenager.

"Ranger which is like an assault class that carries a shotgun and machete. Specialist which allows you to keep your assault rifle as well as get a drone similar to James' which can be used for medical or hacking purposes. Grenadier which gives you a minigun and a grenade launcher liker Dozer. Or you could be a Sharpshooter which gives you a Sniper Rifle and a .44 Magnum like Ghost. I'll give you a moment to think it over." listed off the Commander as the teen thought over his choices before addressing the Commander once more.

"I think I'd be best suited as a Specialist, I was always good with technological machinery so I'd be perfect for the hacking part of that class." replied the teen as James pumped his fist and patted him on the back showing that he was happy to have another person with his same specialty.

"You get that John?" asked the Commander as he turned to Bradford to see him writing it all down on his clipboard.

"Yes sir, the preferences are noted. I'll have them start training in the morning." he said as he saluted the Commander and left to go back to the bridge to enter the information into the ship's information logs.

"You heard the man training starts tomorrow. Get some rest and please show Clay to the living quarters. Dismissed." said the Commander as he saluted them which was returned by all of them as he turned and exited the room. Everyone else shortly followed as they had to get back to work or rest up depending on whom the person was.

* * *

== Later that Day ==

"Sir we've got a priority transmission coming in from the resistance speaker." said Bradford as he entered the Commander's chambers.

"Understood. Put it on screen please." responded the Commander as the screen went blurry before it ended on the blurry picture of the balding speaker from the Council of Nations. He was the only member that managed to escape ADVENT's clutches and was now the acting spokesperson for the Resistance.

"Commander it's good to see you well again. The Resistance is pleased with your progress against ADVENT's forces and is prepared to reward you accordingly. We have a cache of resources that we've stowed away from ADVENT at these coordinates, also word of your exploits have reached other important figures who want to join your cause. They're back at the resistance HQ in New Mexico. We look forward to your continued success against ADVENT."

"Thank you Speaker for all of your resources and praise. It's good to see you unharmed and still helping us. Take care out there and I'll catch you next month old friend."

"You to Commander. Good luck out there." replied the Speaker as the screen went blank and then back to the XCOM logo.

Bradford looked at the coordinates then back at the Commander.

"Orders sir?"

"Set a course for the resources cache. It's time to get invested back in the war." said the Commander as Bradford saluted and rushed off to carry out his orders.

* * *

 **AN: And that's a wrap on this chapter. Once again I apologize for the brevity, but I couldn't in good conscience make you guys wait any longer for the next chapter. Leave a review and tell me what you thought, and don't be afraid to follow or favorite as that encourages me to keep writing chapters. With nothing else to say this is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **-PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	11. What's On The Market?

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION! Hey there everyone, sorry for the wait for this chapter but I had some personal stuff come up in my life that prevented me from writing another chapter for this or my other stories. But, I'm back now and on my birthday no less so let's get this story rolling again!**

 **Chapter 11: What's on the Market?**

* * *

== Three Days Later ==

The Avenger had been parked in a remote area of New Mexico as they were patiently awaiting the credits and supplies that the resistance had so graciously left them in the middle of nowhere to ensure that ADVENT would be unable to find it. They had literally arrived to see that there was a disorganized pile of stuff just carelessly left for them that would take several days to reorganize and load into the Avenger. Now after those three days, the ship would finally be ready to move now that the last crate was in its proper place.

"Now that this clusterfuck has been dealt with, set a course for resistance HQ near Guadalajara. We're going shopping." ordered the Commander as he headed back to his office to get an idea of what he would be looking for when he got there.

"You heard the man let's go wheels up!" said Bradford as the pilots complied with the order as they began the short two hour flight to the HQ.

* * *

== Guerilla Tactics School ==

Clay Levandowski was currently in the process of the most intense workout he'd ever taken a part in, meditation. That's right the big scary teenager was currently sitting peacefully in the lotus position in the middle of the gym portion of the Guerilla Tactics School unmoving as he became one with the world around him. Clay had been in the School for the past three days since he'd joined XCOM as it was a five day process for him to become a full-fledged Squaddie. Everyday there was a routine of theory in the morning, followed by physical workouts, and then his own personal time for meditation with him having the evenings off to do what he wanted. Clay in his free time was mainly hanging out in his room in the living quarters just writing new songs for him to perform later on.

He'd made a few friends namely with James, Kyle, Gabriella and Isabella but had kept his distance from the others until they'd earned his trust. With his meditation time now over he started packing up his things but was interrupted by the door opening as someone else entered the room.

"I was wondering when you'd decide to show up." said Clay with a smirk as he took in the sight of Isabella standing before him.

"Well I wanted to give you a few days to adjust to the ship before approaching you." replied Isabella as she blushed at his muscles that were on display since his vest and shirt were still off.

 _'Damn I'm awesome!'_ thought Clay as his smirk grew wider when he noticed her blush.

 _'Wow I had no idea that a teenager could be so muscular.'_ thought Isabella as she pushed back her more inappropriate thoughts about the person in front of her.

"So what's on your mind Isabella?"

"Well I was wondering if you could help me get past my grief over my past. I know that it's starting to get the better of me, and I want to stop it now before I get someone or myself killed."

"Straight to the point, my kind of person." complimented Clay as he put his shirt back on to keep her from getting too distracted from what they were trying to accomplish.

"Thanks. How's the best way to get this done as quickly as possible?" she replied as Clay chuckled at her naive nature.

"It's not that simple Isabella. It took me years to get over the deaths of my family."

"What happened to them? If you don't mind me asking that is."

"It's alright." said Clay as he pulled out a picture of his family before the accident and showing it to her. In the picture it showed an older male and female hugging their three kids one older boy in the middle, and two younger twins (one boy and one girl) with one on either side of the older boy.

"You were the oldest of three kids?"

"Yeah I was three years older than both my siblings. I was the one they looked up to and asked advice of. This is actually the last picture we took together before the accident that happened a week later. We were driving along before ADVENT attacked my town because we'd been able to hold them off for a few months. When they attacked, they launched artillery that struck the car in front of us and launched shrapnel into my car." Here Clay paused for a few moments as he started tearing up.

"The initial explosion shockwave killed both my parents, but the shrapnel decapitated both of my siblings while I was "lucky"." he emphasized that word with air quotes, before lifting his shirt up to show a long thin scar running parallel across his chest but stopping just before his heart.

"Being older and taller the shrapnel only hit me in the chest and a doctor was able to save me. But for a short time after that I believed that I should've died with them until my aunt came and got me. She took me away and helped me get over my grief and I owe her a lot for keeping me from going down a dark and lonely road."

"Wow that's one incredible story Clay, I can't imagine what that might've been like for you to go through." she said as she gave him a hug to help him calm down as he was still crying.

"Thanks." he replied as he wiped his eyes clear of tears before focusing on her again.

"Now the first step in helping you get over your loss is talking about what happened. My belief is that if you can talk about it then you can move past it once others know about it and how it affected you."

"Okay well I guess it all started right at the beginning of the invasion. My team worked Black Ops for the U.S. and was comprised of four veterans of the war against the Ravagers. It was myself as squad leader, Dickey, his girlfriend Shipman, and my fiancé Marcel. The four of us were going into a middle eastern village to wipe out a suspected terrorist cell that we'd been tracking for months. Thinking that it was just a bunch of regular fighters we hit them with conventional weapons, but when we kicked down that door we were surprised to find out that they were actually aliens. Before we could react, one of the aliens a Berserker ripped Shipman's head off and Dickey just froze up thankfully I pulled him away at the last second and he only lost his eye."

"That explains the eye patch and nickname. Remind me to give him props for the ink by the way." said Clay interrupting her for a moment as she was a little annoyed at that fact.

"Sure thing, anyway... Marcel tried holding them back for us while I called in air support and evacuation. We'd made it back to our exfiltration point, but one of the Thin Men was a sniper and...sh-sh-shot Marcel in the back before he could reach us...and then the air support hit the area and...and...and well he wasn't there anymore." she finished as she began openly crying as Clay just held her close to him and let her cry away all the years of pent up sadness and heartache.

It lasted a good half an hour, before the crying subsided as she looked up at him and saw him looking at her in concern.

"You feel a little better now?"

"A whole lot better actually. Looks like you were right, talking about it does help. What's next?"

"Well now it's all about finding a support network and have them help you get over your loss. Then the final step is moving on but never forgetting that they existed and they're now in a better place watching over us."

"You're a lot wiser than you let on Clay. Why not share it with the others?"

"I only show that to people I truly trust because I know that they have my back. Once the others show me that commitment, then I'll reveal my more vulnerable and nicer side."

"Makes sense, so what's on the agenda for the rest of the day?"

"Well James and I are setting up a jam session for you guys in the mess hall. You're more than welcome to come and watch us perform."

"I'd love to Clay."

"Well then shall we?" he said as he offered her his arm to walk in.

"My such a gentleman, but yes let's go." she said as she accepted his arm and the two headed towards the Mess Hall.

* * *

== In the Mess Hall ==

James already had all of the equipment set up as he was busy tuning his guitar while talking with Kyle and Gabriella. Others that were present were the rest of the soldiers and the Eds as they were all invited to come and watch the short show that they'd put together for them.

"So what are you going to play for us today James?" asked Gabriella who really enjoyed hearing him play knowing that he had a great voice.

"Some newer songs that I've been writing, and Clay's even going to share some of his songs he's been working on after training, plus we've got a special surprise for the end of the show." said James mysteriously as he was oblivious to Gabriella's blushing towards him.

"Sounds like it's going to be a fun time buddy. I can't wait to see Clay perform I hear he's got a unique taste in music." said Kyle as he was laughing on the inside seeing his two friends actions towards one another.

 _'These two still haven't hooked up yet. O the fun I'm going to have teasing both of them when it does happen.'_ thought Kyle as he smiled while readjusting his snapback to keep his air contained.

"Speaking of Clay there he is with Isabella." said James as he noticed how close the two were now.

 _'Guess she finally talked to him about her past. I wonder how long it'll be before they get together?'_

"Well she seems happier." commented the country boy.

"It's nice to see her opening back up a little bit. Guess they had similar pasts or something." said Gabriella as she watched the two separate before Clay came up to them.

"Hey guys. Everything good to go James?"

"Yep just waiting on you and your instruments Levy."

"Cool let's get this show started then." replied the outlaw looking teenager as he pulled out his guitar and got it tuned as the others quieted down wondering which one of them would perform first. That was shortly settled as James stepped up first as Clay stood behind him ready to play his guitar.

"Thank you all for coming to this little get together that Clay and I decided to put together for you all. I'll get this show started with a new song that I just wrote a few days ago regarding my past growing up. I was always ridiculed for being smart and left out of a lot of activities because of it, but I know that being smart wasn't a detriment and others like me could bring some good to this world. So I wrote this as a song those that are looked down upon and made outcasts could rally behind because they do matter and they do have their own voice that needs to be heard. It's called "We Got the Noise"!" He said as he and Clay began playing the first chords of the song. (Song is "We Got the Noise" by The Donots, check it out if you're interested. All rights to the song go to them. Clay is playing lead guitar and doing backing vocals, while James is doing lead vocals and rhythm guitar. **Bold** text is both of them singing, while _Italicized_ text is Clay only, and regular text is James only.)

You ready? One two three four!

The kids, the sound, the passion

We got our hopes, we have our say

 **No** rules, **no** fakes, **no** fashion anyway

The friends, the fun, the meaning

We're gonna have it our own way, **oh-oh**

 **The sweat, the blood, the feeling**

We came here to play

Cause we got the noise

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

We got the noise so here we go

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

This is our voice, this is our show

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

All you boys, all you girls, put it on, turn it up

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

We got the noise and we don't stop

The bored, the scarred, the broken

Together we will take a stand

 **The life, the choice, the moment's** in our hand

The time _(the time!),_ the place _(the place!)_

The message that we try to send, **oh-oh**

Create _(create!),_ take action, make your demands

Make your demands now

Cause we got the noise

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

We got the noise so here we go

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

This is our voice, this is our show

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

All you boys, all you girls, put it on, turn it up

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

We got the noise, c'mon let's go

 _We got the noise_ ( **whooooaaaaaaaa)**

 _We got the noise_ (we got it, we got it)

 _We got the noise_ ( **whooooaaaaaaaa)**

We got the noise and we don't

Let our friends down

Rest in silence

We amplify and get around

Cause we got the noise

*Insert Guitar Solo from Clay*

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

We got the noise so here we go

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

This is our voice, this is our show

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

All you boys, all you girls, we just want you to know

 **Whoooooaaaaa whooooaaaaaaaa**

We got the noise, c'mon let's go

 _We got the noise_ (we got it, we got it) (x4)

 _ **We got the noise**_ ( **whooooaaaaaaaa** ) (x3)

 _We got the noise_ (we got it (x7))

After the music faded, the gathered group got up and cheered as the song really brought them to life. Both of them bowed to the cheers as James got their attention once again for the next song.

"Glad you guys got so into that one. Now I wrote this next one about people that I hated growing up, which is aimed mainly towards those who get everything handed to them but they still complain about life and how it sucks. Screw those people, because they don't know how the real world works! This song is called "Give Up the Grudge"!" (Song belongs to Gob, all credit goes to them for writing and recording it. Same rules apply to the previous song regarding the text types and instruments the two are playing.)

Don't make me listen to the stupid broken record again  
The needle's skipping and repeating never reaching the end _  
_You know you're bitching and complaining like you've got it so tough  
We're sick of all your crying will you ever shut up?

 _So keep bleeding your fake blood  
'Til no even sees it  
If that's the best you can make up  
At least act like you mean it _

**Give up the grudge  
Shut your fucking mouth  
Why you gotta judge everybody but yourself  
Take a look around you  
There ain't nobody home  
I may be a loser but at least I'm not alone**

Your Mercedes won't start  
Yeah that's a crying shame  
I guess 90K a year buys nothing but complaint  
 **The people in the neighborhood** think that I'm a threat  
While their boss gets richer  
 **They get deeper in debt**

 _So keep bleeding your fake blood  
'Til no even sees it  
If that's the best you can make out  
At least act like you mean it _

**Give up the grudge  
Shut your fucking mouth  
Why you gotta judge everybody but yourself  
Take a look around you  
There ain't nobody home  
I may be a loser but at least I'm not alone**

*Insert Guitar Solo from Clay*

 **Give up the grudge  
Shut your fucking mouth  
Why you gotta judge everybody but yourself  
Take a look around you  
There ain't nobody home  
I may be a loser but at least I'm not alone**

 **Give up the grudge  
Shut your fucking mouth  
Why you gotta judge everybody but yourself  
Take a look around you  
There ain't nobody home  
I may be a loser but at least I'm not alone**

 **Give up the grudge  
Shut your fucking mouth  
Why you gotta judge everybody but yourself  
Take a look around you  
There ain't nobody home  
I may be a loser but at least I'm not alone**

 **Give up the grudge  
Shut your fucking mouth  
Why you gotta judge everybody but yourself  
Take a look around you  
There ain't nobody home  
I may be a loser but at least I'm not alone**

 **Give up the grudge  
Shut your fucking mouth  
Why you gotta judge everybody but yourself  
Take a look around you  
There ain't nobody home  
I may be a loser but at least I'm not alone**

Once again the crowd went insane, as they continued on this momentum with James playing some of the songs he had played earlier. (Check the last couple of chapters.)

"Alright guys now it's time for me to turn it over to the big guy here as he takes over for me. Levy if you would please."

"Alright guys I know some of you don't know me that well, so I hope that this performance acts as a stepping stone to fix that and that we can watch each other's backs out there in the field. This first song I wrote just this morning about some people I knew in the past that weren't as they seemed to be. It's called "Beast and the Harlot"." (All credit goes to Avenged Sevenfold for writing this masterpiece, check them out if you have the time. Clay is now on lead vocals, while James is now on lead guitar. The roles basically have just switched from the first two songs.)

*Song opens with a guitar bridge from both, and Clay begins with his screaming voice before singing.*

This shining city built of gold, **a far cry from innocence**

There's more than meets the eye round here look to the waters of the deep

 **A city of evil**

There sat a seven-headed beast, **ten horns raised from his head**

Symbolic woman sits on his throne, **but hatred strips her and leaves her naked**

 **The Beast and the Harlot**

She's a dwelling place for demons, she's a cage for every unclean spirit every filthy bird

And makes us drink the poisoned wine to fornicate with our kings

 **Fallen now is Babylon the Great**

 ***** Insert first guitar solo from James*

The city dressed in jewels and gold, **fine linen, Myrrh and pearls**

Her plagues will come all at once as her mourners watch her burn

 **Destroyed in an hour**

Merchants and captains of the world, **sailors navigators too**

Will weep and mourn this loss with her sins piled to the sky

 **The Beast and the Harlot**

She's a dwelling place for demons, she's a cage for every unclean spirit every filthy bird

And makes us drink the poisoned wine to fornicate with our kings

 **Fallen now is Babylon the Great**

*Insert Clay's guitar bridge before James rejoins on the next Verse*

 **The day has come for all us sinners**

 **If your not a servant you'll be struck to the ground.**

 **Flee the burning, greedy city looking back on her to see there's nothin' around.**

I don't believe in fairy tales

And no one wants to go to Hell

But you made the wrong decision

And it's easy to see.

Now if you want to serve above or be a king below with us

 **You're welcome to the city where your future is set forever**

She's a dwelling place for demons, she's a cage for every unclean spirit every filthy bird

And makes us drink the poisoned wine to fornicate with our kings

 **Fallen now is Babylon the Great**

Just like with James' songs the crowd came to their feet in support of the loner and his metal/rock music as he was initially surprised at the praise, but bowed and accepted them a few moments later. James gave him a thumbs up as he moved on to the next song.

"Alright since you loved that one so much, let's go for something with a little more personal feeling to me. This one is about the abandonment and loneliness I had to deal with after my family was killed as I initially blamed myself for their deaths. This song is called "From Heads Unworthy"!" (All credit goes to Rise Against for this song. Same rules and roles apply from the previous song.)

We are the children you reject and disregard

These aching cries come from the bottom of our hearts

You can't disown us now, **we are your own flesh and blood**

And we don't disappear just because your eyes are shut, now tell me

 **Love, loss**

Like a bullet's path

 **Tear through**

The cavity of my chest

 **Lights out**

Because the fuse has blown

As their castles crumble slowly

 **We watch them fall**

Their crown slips from heads unworthy

 **As we gain control**

This is the family that we crossed or never had

This is a war that was lost the day it began

'Cause it's the race we run, but it keeps us at the start

And it's the song I sung from the bottom of my heart, that's how we

 **Read you**

Like a polygraph

 **Not one**

Single bone in your back

 **Own up**

To how you let us down

As their castles crumble slowly

 **We watch them fall**

Their crown slips from heads unworthy

 **As we gain control**

Except for you and me, love

Everyone's the same, we know, we know, we know, we know

But if to live, we have to be numb

I'd rather know the pain, I'd rather know, I'd rather know

This happens almost never

But it happened once to me

And this will never be the same

The ends we seam together

I'm not after fame and fortune

I'm after you

When I've served my time I swear I

Will come back for you

 _(Watch them fall)_

As their castles crumble slowly

 **We watch them fall**

Their crown slips from heads unworthy

 **And right onto us**

But, I'm after you

I'm after you

I'm after you

Yeah, I'm after you

With the song now over, the crowd once again exploded into applause and cheers as Clay was ready for the admiration this time and reveled in it before performing the song he had performed when XCOM first picked him up. (Check last chapter for it.) Now with that song over, he looked over to James who nodded before they both took off their guitars and grabbed microphones and made their way back to the front of their makeshift stage.

"Remember that little surprise that James was talking about earlier? Well here it is, we have a song the both of us wrote about rising up above the perceptions everyone else had of us when we were younger. So I think it's time we take it away, hit it James!" said Clay as James hit the button to start the music track they had recorded yesterday in preparation for this performance. (Song is "Lift Me Up" by Five Finger Death Punch ft. Rob Halford of Judas Priest, Clay's vocals are regular text, James' are _Italicized,_ and **Bolded** text is both of them singing together. All credit goes to 5FDP and Mr. Halford for writing and performing the song.)

It ain't no mystery

I'm all I have left

I'm pushing back running you over

I've been thrown down,

Run around

Beaten 'til I hit the ground

I'm telling you right now that it's over

There's no room for mistakes

All the parts are in place

Say what you will but say it to my face

Better back the fuck up

Better shut the fuck up

I'll do what I want

And I'll never give up

 **I** won't be broken

 **I** won't be tortured

 **I** won't be beaten down

 **I** have the answer

 **I** can take the pressure

 **I** will turn it all around

Lift me up above this

The flames and the ashes

Lift me up and help me to fly away

Lift me up above this

The broken, the empty

Lift me up and help me to fly away

 _I'm gonna change history_

 _Enlighten the world_

 _Teach 'em how to see through my eyes_

 _I'm gonna lash back check that fate as a heart attack_

 _Stomp out all the ugliest lies_

 _You can't convince me to change_

 _We ain't on the same page_

 _I've had my fill_

 _There's nothing but rage_

 _Best get out of my way 'cause there's nothing to say_

 _Is that all you got because I ain't got all day_

 **I** won't be broken

 **I** won't be tortured

 **I** won't be beaten down

 **I** have the answer

 **I** can take the pressure

 **I** will turn it all around

 _Lift me up above this_

 _The flames and the ashes_

 _Lift me up and help me to fly away_

 _Lift me up above this_

 _The broken, the empty_

 _Lift me up and help me to fly away_

*Insert Guitar Solo, during which both are head banging*

 **I** won't be broken

 **I** won't be tortured

 **I** won't be beaten down

 **I** have the answer

 **I** can take the pressure

 **I** will turn it all around

 **Lift me up above this**

 **The flames and the ashes**

 **Lift me up and help me to fly away**

 **Lift me up above this**

 **The broken, the empty**

 **Lift me up and help me to fly away**

Lift me up to fly away

 _Lift me up to fly away_

 **Lift me up**

With the final note fading away and the entire crowd applauding them and cheering them on, the two engaged in a friendly handshake that ended in a chest bump. (Think of Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop's handshake but with a chest bump added to it.) The Commander chose this time to enter the room as he too had seen the majority of the performances and was impressed to say the least.

"Ah it's nice to see the next generation so invested into music. Excellent performance you two, I was thoroughly entertained."

"Thank you sir." said James as Clay just nodded along with him.

"You're welcome. I just wanted to inform you all that we'll be arriving at HQ in about ten minutes so if you want to get off and walk around or join me on my trip to acquire more resources and manpower then you're more than welcome to join me." he offered as he looked around to see several of the people considering the offers.

"Anyway, if you are planning to leave the ship let the duty officer know and I'll see you on the ramp in ten minutes. Good day." he said as he saluted everyone, as they all promptly returned it. He then promptly made his exit as he let the others congregate and discuss the options amongst themselves.

* * *

== Ten Minutes Later ==

The Commander was walking off the ramp as he was joined by Smokey, Ghost, Ice, Dozer, and the Eds. The others had all disembarked to walk around and explore the entire site as they'd never been here before. The group of eight walked off towards what appeared to be the main headquarters building that was originally the town's mayor's house as they entered the small semi-dilapidated structure. They all gathered in front of the secretary as she pressed a buzzer letting the person in charge know that the Commander and his entourage had finally arrived.

"Hello Commander. Long time no see." said a bald-headed man that had appeared from the room behind the secretary's desk as they all looked at him in shock.

"Mr. Speaker I never thought we'd get to meet and so soon especially!" said the Commander who was utterly flabbergasted but shook the offered hand nonetheless.

"Surprised? I knew you'd get a kick out of seeing me in person for once instead of on that screen all the time. Anyway what brings you by?"

"Well we finally acquired all the supplies and credits you left behind at the drop site so we stopped by to try and pick up some more folks to help with the fight."

"I should've guessed as much. Don't worry I have just the people you're looking for. Come on out ladies!" he said to the office he just exited from and they saw three women exit from there. The first was the tallest of the three as she had red curly hair that hung over her eyes preventing them from seeing her eyes. She was wearing a white shirt with orange polka dots, and blue jeans. The second was the shortest of the three as she possessed blue hair that had one bang stylized to cover her right eye as she was wearing a black t-shirt that showed off her midriff region, and green combat pants. The final female had long blonde hair that reached midway down her back and she was wearing a gray t-shirt with red shorts. The most prominent features that stuck out to them were her freckled face and her four prominent front teeth that stuck out further than her others.

The three stared at the group for a moment, before noticing the Eds and well all hell broke loose.

"IT'S OUR BOYFRIENDS!" they shouted as the Eds began to panic.

"KANKERS!" shouted Edd and Ed.

"RUN BOYS EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" shouted Eddy as the three took off with the women in hot pursuit. The three tried hiding with the help of the other personnel, but they were all laughing to hard at the scene in front of them to do much as they were swiftly caught and had their faces covered in lipstick kisses in under ten minutes.

"Now that that's over, can you three please introduce yourselves to us so we can head back to the ship and prepare for takeoff?" asked the Commander as the three got serious and introduced themselves.

"I'm Lee Kanker. I'm the oldest of us three and I specialize in fixing things so I'd be perfect as an Engineer." said the redhead.

"I'm Marie Kanker, and I'm actually more geared to theoretical work involving medicine and science. I've always been smart, but I wanted to uphold my reputation as a tough girl so I hid it from others. I'd be perfect as a Scientist." said the bluenette.

"And I'm May Kanker. I'm the youngest sister and I specialize in robotics so I'd be best as an Engineer as well." said the blonde as the XCOM personnel greeted them each individually.

"You have yourself a deal Mr. Speaker." said the Commander as he shook the man's hand one last time.

"A pleasure doing business with you Commander." replied the Speaker as he returned the handshake.

"Alright everybody let's move out, we've got a planet to save after all." ordered the Commander as he led the trek back to the Avenger.

* * *

 **AN: And cut! That's a wrap on this chapter. I hope everybody enjoyed it and once again I'm dreadfully sorry for not updating this story sooner. Leave a favorite, follow, and review if you feel like it and let me know what you think. Anyway with nothing else to say, this is "The Nasty One" signing off!**

 **-PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	12. A New Enemy Emerges

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION! That's right everyone, I'm back with the latest installment in the XCOM 2 storyline of my series. What's going to happen? Let's find out!**

 **Chapter 12: A New Enemy Emerges**

* * *

== Two Days Later ==

The XCOM team had returned to their ship before making contact with the neighboring region of the Western U.S. as they'd already secured the Eastern Portion as well as New Mexico. The reason behind this logic was that Tygan had discovered something revolving around the chip extracted from the Commander's skull and the chip inside the ADVENT officers.

"So much of my research based upon this simple design, if only I'd known. Ah Commander and Bradford, there's been some progress." said Tygan as he began the meeting that he'd called for after his discovery.

"I've managed to break down several key components of the 'chip' implanted into your skull. My analysis reveals that its primary function was that of a conduit, passing a vast amount of data directly to your cerebral cortex. With the primary connection severed, much of that data is lost. Several fragments do remain, however 'Ghosts' if you will. Observe. Tactical combat simulations. Wargames. The sheer volume of encounters you were processing was astounding it...it was truly remarkable that you survived as long as you did. Though this is disconcerting, there is some good news. This is the same chip is similar to one that I was developing for medical purposes as a gene therapy clinic in New Providence that was going to be used for Officers in ADVENT's forces. I was able to extract one from the one of the bodies your team brought back from the last mission."

"What did you find out Tygan?" asked the Commander in a grim tone since he had a hunch about what he was going to say.

"It appears as though they were using your knowledge against the resistance to counter our activities for the past five years." replied Tygan.

"They were using you against us!" said Bradford shocked at the new development. It explained everything about how they had such a tough time against ADVENT after it was discovered that the Commander had been captured.

"As disconcerting as that thought is, there is more good news as one of the Ghosts pulled from the Officer's chip was of a facility ADVENT is keeping under close watch in the Western United States. Whatever's in there must be of some importance if they want to keep it hush-hush." said Tygan trying to get them out of the past and back in the present.

"If what you say is true Tygan then we'll need to contact the local resistance cell in the area and get them to show us where the facility is located so we can hit it fast and hard!" said Bradford excited at the prospect of finally hitting a key point in ADVENT's rule.

"Alright let's get on it people! Dismissed. O and good work Tygan." said the Commander as he left for his quarters.

"Thank you sir." replied Tygan as he and Bradford talked for a bit before going their separate ways.

* * *

== A Few Moments Later ==

The ship was already in motion towards the local resistance headquarters in Los Angeles after Bradford had the analysts track the resistance cell communications line to a small wooded area just outside of the city's outskirts.

The Commander was just about to plot out his next move once the cell was contacted, before his terminal started beeping indicating an incoming message from the former Councilor.

"Hello Commander. We have just received some troubling information from one of our contacts near the Speaker for ADVENT. It appears as though they've begun work on a project that will in his words 'crush XCOM once and for all'. It's called the Avatar Project, no one knows what it does, but it left unchecked this thing could cause trouble for us down the line. I have the upmost confidence in you to bring this thing tumbling down around ADVENT just like with the Ravagers Invasion a decade and a half ago. Good luck Commander."

"Well that doesn't sound good." said Bradford as he made his presence at the door known.

"Jesus H. Bradford! Don't startle me like that!" exclaimed the Commander as he clutched his chest mocking a fake heart attack.

"Sorry sir, couldn't help it." chuckled Bradford at his superior's antics.

"You're right though, they moved fast to put an endgame on the table for us all to clearly see. They think by backing us into a corner then they'll have us beat, but we're XCOM and we don't give up that easily."

"Yeah it's nothing new for us really. We're just saving the world again by defeating alien overseers, we've done it before and we'll do it some more!"

"Well put John. Go ahead and spread the word to the soldiers they need to know that this isn't fun time anymore. It's time to step up and play hardball."

"Roger that sir." said Bradford as he left while talking into his headpiece to alert the others on the ship to meet for a meeting in the hangar.

* * *

== Three Days Later ==

Deadeye was sitting in XCOM's newly acquired aircraft as it bounced up and down through the sky as it headed towards Galveston, Texas for an urgent mission request from the local Resistance fighters out of Arlen, Texas. It appears as though the group managed to derail an ADVENT supply train and the soldiers not killed in the raid were stuck defending the supplies while waiting for backup. It was the perfect opportunity to get some more equipment vital for the resistance's survival moving forward.

Right now Deadeye was sitting back for the bumpy ride to the target area as he thought back on how he got asked into doing this mission.

* * *

== Flashback ==

"Alright everybody listen up and settle down!" shouted Bradford to get everyone's attention. He waited for all of the chatter to cease before continuing.

"We've got a mission request from Texas! Looks like the Resistance forces in Arlen managed to derail and ADVENT train near Galveston. We'll be sending a team down there to clean up any surviving ADVENT forces and also to secure the supplies that were on board." he paused as the soldiers discussed amongst themselves who'd they were going to send.

"Before anyone volunteers, the Commander has an announcement to make."

"Thank you Central for the introduction. Guys I'm not going to beat around the bush on this, everyone remember the Avatar Project that we discovered a few days ago?" he paused as the soldiers nodded in agreement and murmured about it.

"Well, we've discovered one of their main facility's location in the wooded areas around Eugene, Oregon. We know that the place is under strong enemy guard and will need to be taken out ASAP so we can get an idea of what this project is dealing with. I've already selected those who will be going on this mission which is why we didn't want you guys saying who was going just yet. I want those going to gear up immediately and hop on Firebrand so we can hit this thing tonight."

The Commander paused as he watched the men and women talk amongst themselves and speculate who would be going on by far the most important mission thus far. Many of the conversations seemed to be pointing towards the more experienced soldiers going on the mission since they had their first war experiences working in their favor.

"The first two going are Smokey and Ghost and both will be sharing joint command of the operation." This didn't come as a surprise to most as they were arguably the two most experienced soldiers in the whole organization.

"The next person going is Kelly." said the Commander as many were also unsurprised as she was the most level-headed Ranger and would make a perfect piece to lead the up close battle.

"The final two going on the mission are Watkins... and Reaper." said the Commander as he watched the looks of shock and surprise pass on the faces of the assembles audience. Many were surprised that both of them were going on the mission for differing reasons, Watkins was no doubt one of the younger soldiers on the roster but had proven himself to remain poised in the field and deliver first aid to those whom need it. Reaper on the other hand was a complete mystery to those assembled, he'd only been on two missions and was very antisocial with a majority of the others minus Lucifer and Tower whom had served with him in the past. Nevertheless, the Commander's decision was final as the five gathered their gear and departed on Firebrand towards their target after receiving good luck wishes from those whom remained.

"Alright now we're back to those who want to be a part of the Supply Raid mission. I need four volunteers to undertake this mission." said Bradford as he awaited for someone to step up, he didn't have to wait very long.

"I'm in sir." said Vega as she raised her hand.

"Me to mate. I'm itching for a fight." said Lucifer in agreement.

"I'll go and keep him in line." said Tower as he stepped up and patted Lucifer's shoulder who looked at him in indignation at the remark but wisely said nothing in front of the Commander and Bradford.

Bradford made the notes on his duty roster as he awaited for the fourth person to step up. Lockdown looked at Deadeye and signed to him to get his attention.

 _'Why aren't you volunteering?'_

 _'I don't want to do this one, besides I hate babysitting those two.'_ responded Deadeye as he was referring to Tower and Lucifer.

 _'Do it, you know Ice can't go since he's looking after Dozer and the other snipers are on the other mission. Just do it you big baby.'_

 _'Fine if it'll get you off my back.'_ signed Deadeye as he sighed in reservation knowing he'd never beat Lockdown in an argument.

"Guess I'll volunteer." said Deadeye as he raised his hand while readjusting his eye patch.

"Excellent you three will leave immediately as well." said the Commander as he gave Bradford a signal. They watched as Bradford spoke into his headpiece asking if "it" was ready yet.

"Sir, how are they going to get there? Didn't you send Firebrand out already?" asked Levandowski as he wondered what the two were up to.

"You'd be correct Clay, but after we visited the former Councilor at Resistance HQ, I took a walk around and noticed someone who possessed an older version of a Chinook helicopter and I asked him to come aboard and provide us a secondary transport since we lack the resources to build another version of Firebrand." explained the Commander as the remaining soldiers wondered whom the new pilot was since they hadn't seen any new people roaming around the base.

"This person has spent most of their time provided assistance in the Engineering department getting the bird back in pristine condition and is ready to meet you all. So please without further ado, welcome 'Spitfire' to our ranks."

The door behind him opened as a person in their early twenties walked out in front of them with an old-school fighter pilot helmet under their right arm. Said person was incredibly skinny, and stood at about 6' 1''. The person was a male, and had a red mullet with thick sideburns and some red chin stubble on his face. He wore square glasses with clear lenses that showed off his greenish-blue eyes and a blue short-sleeved shirt with green fringe on the sleeves and neck collar with a hamburger logo on it over top of a pink long sleeve shirt, along with green skinny jeans and white and blue Converse sneakers.

"Hello everyone I'm Harold Norbert Cheever Doris McGrady V, and I look forward to serving with all of you and showing off my mad skills." said the man in a very deep nerdy voice.

"Did you just say Doris?" asked Lucifer as he started laughing his ass off.

"Yes. It's a family name that I uphold with pride and would appreciate it if you didn't insult their memory and legacy." replied Harold in a dry tone indicating that he wasn't amused.

"Lucifer shut up, you only succeed at putting your foot in your own mouth. Welcome to the team Spitfire, can't wait to fly with you." said Clay as he shook the nerd's hand and whispered in his ear.

"10 bucks id you make Lucifer's ride as bumpy as possible."

"Done."

"Alright good luck guys and Godspeed on the mission." said the Commander as the team departed towards the newly acquired Chinook to lift off.

* * *

== End Flashback ==

Deadeye was then jolted from his reminiscing as Lucifer once again complained about the ride. Tower then handled that by scolding him since it was his fault in the first place for insulting Spitfire's family name.

"Alright guys you know the drill so I won't waste time boring you with details. We'll be landing in the town and advancing towards the outskirts near the train tracks. Once there, we'll secure the area and the supplies. O and Lucifer no destroying the supplies since we kind of need them." said Deadeye as he was in command of the operation.

"Yeah, yeah I got it." said Lucifer as the team saw the light turn red indicating they should stand up and be ready to drop.

"Alright guys once I open the ramp you'll be repelling down on top of building in the center of the town and from there you guys are on your own. You need a pickup just set off the smoke grenade and I'll be there in under five minutes. Good luck!" shouted Harold over the radio as the ramp began opening and four ropes fell out of the ramp as the light turned green.

"GO! GO! GO!" shouted Deadeye as the foursome simultaneously dropped onto the building below as the Chinook ascended and flew off to find a spot to touch down and wait for either the evac smoke or the all clear signal.

* * *

== On the Ground ==

"Spread out and check the area around the building before dropping down, we don't need any civilians alerting ADVENT to our position. I'll set up a sniper's nest here and provide Overwatch."

"Roger that Deadeye. Move out boys." ordered Vega as the three slowly moved to different edges of the building before dropping down via drainpipes and ladders to the ground below.

The group cleared the area around the building and slowly advanced to the North as they stuck to the alleys and side streets as they reached the edge of the city after fifteen minutes. Vega and Tower then peeked over the edge of the fence and saw that the locomotive and the three cars behind it had come off the rails and were in smoldering wrecks giving off black smoke. The other four flatbed cars were still on the rails and had three separate groups of ADVENT personnel patrolling them as they awaited backup.

"Looks like three different patrols consisting of four troopers, one officer, one stun lancer, one Sectoid, and one unidentified species." said Tower as he listed off the enemies in his field of vision as Tygan came over the radio.

"This creatures originally designated as Thin Men, now show off their true appearances." said Tygan.

"Of course, the aliens don't need an infiltration unit anymore that's modified with Human DNA, they have the Faceless for that." said Bradford in acknowledgment of Tygan's comment.

"Alright, I think I have a plan. Deadeye do you have line of sight on all of the enemies?" asked Vega.

"Yeah I do." said Deadeye from his nest on top of their drop off point.

"Alright here's what we'll do..."

CRASH! "Owwwww." moaned Lucifer as he was on top of a platform that connected the fence to the house behind them before it collapsed due to his weight and he landed on top of the wooden picket fence. The reason he moaned was that he landed on his crotch as he gripped it in pain.

Tower couldn't resist the chance to make fun of his teammate and spoke in a tone common to a lecturing television spokesperson.

"Getting your balls stuck on a fence, don't let it happen to you." he said complete with a point back at Vega as she palmed her forehead while Deadeye just sighed over the radio.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." he said as he saw the aliens move towards the sound.

"Get ready guys they're on their way!" he exclaimed as he slowed down his breathing as he prepared to fire on their orders.

"God Damnit that hurt mate!" swore Lucifer as he fell off the fence and took cover with them as they awaited the push in from ADVENT. They didn't have to wait long as the Stun Lancer and two troopers hopped over first and came face to face with all three XCOM members weapons.

BOOM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

Were the rapid fire sounds as the three enemies were dispatched via Lucifer's shotgun, and Vega's assault rifle, and Tower's minigun.

With the first wave dealt with, the team started falling back towards Deadeye's position, but they were stopped as what appeared to be a tongue grabbed Lucifer's ankle and pulled him through the fence as he desperately tried to free himself from its hold. Once it stopped dragging him, he looked up and came face to face with the yellow scaled body of a Viper as it hissed at him.

"Um nice snake...URGH!" said Lucifer as the snake wrapped him up and started trying to squeeze the life out of him.

"Help...me." he managed to wheeze out while trying not to lose consciousness.

"Hold still Lucifer!" shouted Deadeye as he uncorked a bullet that impacted the Viper in her shoulder area making the snake release her hold on him.

"Eat steel bitch!" exclaimed Lucifer as he sliced the Viper's head clean off as she was still dazed from Deadeye's .50 caliber round.

"Um Lucifer." said Tower in a concerned tone.

"What is it?"

"Duck!" he exclaimed as he fired a grenade from his launcher into the wall of enemies behind Lucifer as the two troopers died from the shrapnel, while the Officer was just slightly wounded but still aimed at Lucifer regardless.

"Cecilia go!" exclaimed Vega as he drone flew from cover and gave Lucifer Aid Protocol as it raised his defense and caused the Officer's shot to only graze his side as it gave off the illusion that Lucifer had sprinted to his right instead of holding still.

"Oi I'm good!" exclaimed Lucifer as he then started running back towards them.

A plasma bolt then whizzed over his head as the Sectoid made its presence known from behind the dumpster to the squad's left as it managed to sneak up on them during the midst of the chaos.

"Changing course, hope you like the taste of blood cause that'll be the last thing you get wanker!" shouted Lucifer as he ducked under the Sectoid's slash as it tried to cut him with its fingernails before he sliced the alien across the stomach as it fell to its knees holding its stomach as it tried to stop the flow of blood and organs from the hole in its stomach region.

"See you in hell!" shouted Lucifer as he made the swing that decapitated the Sectoid as it fell to the ground lifeless with yellow blood spraying everywhere.

BAM!

Another shot rang out as Deadeye dropped the Officer as it tried to fall back and radio for the reinforcements to speed up their arrival. Not hearing anything else, the squad holstered their weapons as they made their way over to the supplies on the still functioning portion of the train. Once Deadeye eventually arrived since he was coming from further away, he came upon the sight of Tower single-handedly moving all the supplies over to the pickup point for Harold while Vega's drone Cecilia was applying first aid to Lucifer.

"Looks like we missed all the fun." said a new voice as the squad looked over to see a group of fighters approach from the West.

"Hank! Glad you could make it up here, by the way good work on disabling the train for us." said Deadeye as he recognized the person whom the voice belonged to as it was Hank Hill, the leader of the Arlen resistance forces.

Said leader was dressed in a white t-shirt with blue jeans, brown work boots, black square framed glasses, and a black wrist watch on his left wrist. He was flanked by three other individuals, one of which was overweight, one was blonde and looked like a playboy, and the final one had dark sunglasses and was unhealthily pale and gave off the air of a conspiracy theorist. (It's Bill Dauterive, Jeffrey Boomhauer, and Dale Gribble.)

"How you doing Bernard? Still holding everything together I see."

"Yeah I have my good days and bad days but it all evens out in the end I suppose. You hear to pick up your half of the shipment?"

"Yep."

"Yep."

"Yep."

"Mmm hmm."

"Got it, me and Tower will bring it over to you truck for ya."

After finishing the loading and unloading of the supplies, the four resistance fighters headed for home as they declined the invite to return with XCOM as they still had work to do to secure their homes. Bernard wished them well and made the promise to keep in touch with Hank when he had the time.

As the four were awaiting pickup, Deadeye decided to start conversing with Vega since Tower was providing Overwatch, and Lucifer was still nursing his injuries.

"So Gabriella, I couldn't help but notice that you were giving first aid with your drone."

"Yeah so?" she asked not seeing the point.

"Did James teach you that, or were looking to surprise him on a mission?" he asked as she blushed at the thought of the yellow clad Specialist.

"N-n-n-n-no, w-w-w-what made you think that?" she asked stuttering terribly.

"Just a hunch. You should probably tell him how you feel soon."

"Why should I?"

"Well for one, James is very dense when it comes to things of this nature, and two you never know when your last moment on this Earth can be. Trust me on this, I could've proposed to Shipman before that fateful mission that announced the Ravagers' reappearance but I held off thinking I'd be able to do so after the mission. And now she's dead in the ground somewhere and I'll never get to see her again!" he exclaimed as he started to tear up as he remembered the mission that scarred him emotionally and physically.

"Just do it alright? Please." he said as he was on the verge of losing it.

"Sure thing Bernard. Go ahead and take a moment to collect yourself, Harold will be here soon."

Deadeye nodded as he walked off a small distance to collect himself as Tower and Lucifer were both watching the exchange with interest.

"No wonder he's so tough on the outside, he's putting up a front to deal with the pain that still haunts him inside." said Tower as Lucifer nodded.

"Wow I never knew mate. Dude must have a reminder of that moment everyday he looks in the mirror. That's really depressing, no wonder he wants me to take things more seriously."

"Definitely can't disagree with him there." agreed Tower.

"Hey!" said Lucifer indignantly as he tried to chase down Tower, but couldn't since his ribs hurt too bad. Tower just laughed at his friend's suffering before refocusing on his Overwatch assignment.

"Good to see them still finding time to smile despite the situation humanity is currently in." said Vega as she continued thinking about what she'd say to James as Harold's Chinook arrived on scene to pick them and the supplies up before heading back to base after another successful mission.

* * *

 **AN: And that's a wrap on this chapter! I apologize for the wait between the chapters, but I had trouble finding motivation to write this. But I'm back now and ready to start getting more of these out in the future. I hope you all enjoyed the introduction of some outside characters from other shows as they make their impact on the story.**

 **On another note, I was recently contacted by a fellow author that is interested in taking the first part of this story** " **XCOM: Earth's Guarding Saviors" and translating it over into Ukrainian so more people can read it! So everybody keep an eye out for that from MorningKoffe. And also thanks for following and favoriting the story bro!**

 **Next time we'll see the other team take on the Alien Blacksite Mission as they discover the beginnings of the Avatar Project, and some information on one of the members of the strike team that will cause something to stir within them. Until next time this is "The Nasty One" signing off!**

 **-PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	13. Blacksite Down

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THIS GLORIOUS FANFIC!**

 **Hey there, I'm back relatively quickly this time as I bring you the Blacksite Mission from XCOM 2. Hopefully our heroes can make it through unscathed, but will they? Let's find out.**

 **Chapter 13: Blacksite Down**

* * *

== On Firebrand ==

The five handpicked soldiers were all silently sitting in Firebrand's hold not saying a word as they mentally prepared themselves for the mission they were getting ready to undertake. The Blacksite was by far the biggest mission given to them thus far and they wanted to make sure that they succeeded.

Smokey gazed upon the others as he wanted to see if they were going to be ready to fight when the time came. Looking directly across from him he saw Ghost with his eyes closed listening to his music as he was bobbing his head to the beat. Feeling someone's eyes on him, Ghost opened his to see Smokey staring at him. Recognizing the look in his long time friend's eyes he nodded to him letting him know that he was ready to go. Looking to his left, Smokey spotted Kelly doing one last check of her weapon as she finished reassembling it for the third time this flight. He knew it was her way of calming her nerves, so he let her be as she seemed to be doing good.

Looking to Ghost's right, he spotted Watkins staring at his drone as if having a mental conversation with it about something. After what seemed like hours, but was really only two minutes, he raised his fist and the drone nudged it with its body in an imitation of a fist bump. Shaking his head at the younger man's antics, he gazed upon the final squad member who was sitting further off from them in a meditative stance. Reaper was being his normally quiet self as he was visualizing cutting down the enemy's he'd encounter either with his katana or with his weapons. Figuring out what he was doing, Smokey left him alone as he looked down at his hands before tightly making two fists as remembered all of those that had died because of ADVENT and how he wanted to avenge their deaths on this mission.

The five were brought out of their musing by Bradford whom appeared on screen to give them their briefing.

"Alright people, the Speaker has brought it to our attention that there is a hidden facility operating secretly under ADVENT's discretion in these woods. Your job is recon the site and figure out what is going on, grab anything that would be useful to our cause, and then extract at the far end of the site. Any questions?"

Receiving none from the soldiers, Bradford signed off since he knew none of them needed a lecture on how big this mission really was. Right after that, the lights inside of Firebrand went red signaling that it was time for the drop to commence. The five stood up as a unit and moved towards the transport's rear door as five ropes descended towards the Earth. The soldiers latched on and fast-roped into the combat area. After landing, Firebrand departed towards the evac site as the squad took in their surroundings.

* * *

== On the Ground ==

The five soldiers looked around the area and realized that they'd been dropped behind a building that was functioning as a power facility if the whirring of a generator from inside of it was any indication. Deciding to clear it out before moving to far into the facility, Smokey, Watkins, and Kelly all entered the rear door and went room by room searching for any personnel that could alert the ADVENT forces to their location but found none as they set up along the wall near the door opposite where they entered. Meanwhile, Ghost and Reaper had both climbed up the ladder next to the rear entrance and had cleared the rooftop of any hostiles. Reaching the far end, they peered down and spotted railroad tracks with a train still on them but was empty of any supplies.

"ADVENT has these trains running day and night all over, but nobody ever sees them loading or unloading anything. This looks like the end of the line though so stay frosty people." said Bradford over the comms as both snipers ducked back into hiding as they spotted an enemy patrol just below them. The patrol contained what appeared to be a Viper, a Trooper, and a Stun Lancer.

"Smokey we've got contact just outside the building. Looks like a Trooper, a Stun Lancer, and a snake-like creature." said Ghost as he radioed it in.

"Did you say a snake-like creature?" asked Smokey incredulously as the three of them peeked out the window and confirmed Ghost's statement.

"Well I'll be damned he wasn't kidding." said Smokey as Bradford came over the comms and confirmed that the Viper was originally the Thin Men but without the added human DNA they can show off their true form.

"So what's the plan Smokey? We taking these guys or are we going to let them pass?" asked Kelly as Watkins nodded with her question showing that he was asking the same thing.

"I think we have to take them, we don't know how many more of them are out there and we don't want to become surrounded by multiple patrols and be outnumbered." said Smokey as the others agreed with him.

"Alright we'll spring the trap once Ghost and Reaper fire on one of the enemies."

"Roger that Smokey. Reaper which one do you want to take?"

"The snake thing. We don't know what it can do so it's best to take it out before it can react." replied Reaper coldly as his disdain for the aliens was barely contained in his cold voice.

"Got it, I'll fire first." said Ghost as he lined up his rifle on the building's railing before rattling off a shot that struck the snake in its upper body somehow managing to dodge the fast moving projectile at close range. The three enemies looked up towards the roof and pointed at Ghost before trying to sprint for cover. None of them would make it that far as Reaper's rifle lodged a bullet in the snake's head killing it instantly, while the Trooper was brought down by Watkins' M4A4, and the Lancer was dropped by Kelly's buckshot as silence rained over the area.

"Requiescat in Pace." said Reaper as the squad regrouped on the ground.

"Alright people, they know we're here, let's move fast and get the job done." said Smokey as the three headed for the middle carriages of the train, while Ghost and Reaper moved towards the locomotive.

* * *

== With Group 1 (Smokey, Watkins and Kelly) ==

The first group reached the flat carriages of the train and looked upon a station filled with stasis tubes of some kind filled with a green liquid. The three were perplexed by this and moved forwards to investigate, but Smokey stopped as he realized what was inside of it having flashbacks to the Abductor UFO's and the Alien Base from the first war.

"O my God those bastards are at it again." he said barely above a whisper as Kelly looked back at him to see what was wrong.

"What'd you say Smokey?" she asked as Watkins peered inside the closest container. He looked in and was met with a body that floated towards the surface of the tank and smacked softly against the glass as he jumped back in fright.

"Ah! What the absolute fuck?!" he said as the two looked at him spread out on the ground clutching his heart. The scene would've been very comical if they were under normal circumstances.

"They're kidnapping people again, they did this back in the first war with the UFOs. This explains the busy train schedules." said Smokey as his danger senses then kicked in as he looked towards the building above the station where a turret had aimed down the sights at the three of them from the roof.

"Find cover NOW!" he shouted as he pushed Kelly down behind the train carriages before he dove behind a tall pile of stasis tanks. Watkins having already been on the ground managed to crawl his way over to Smokey without getting hit.

"A little help here Ghost!" shouted Smokey into his headset.

* * *

== With Group 2 ==

The two had encountered no trouble as the rounded the front of the locomotive and spotted a tower that would make for the perfect vantage point as the others approached the building. The two had scaled the tower and were perched on its upper floor as they gazed out across an open field that led to a side entrance of the facility and also spotted the turret that was too far away to spot them. The two set up their rifles as they sat there waiting for the other group to radio them with a plan. Deciding to pass the time with conversation, Ghost decided to try and talk with the young Sharpshooter.

"Jacob man you got a last name?"

"Nope."

"What you mean 'nope', everyone's born with one."

"Don't remember."

"Why not?"

"Not too sure."

"You don't say much do you?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Don't feel like it."

"Fair enough." said Ghost as he ended the awkward exchange and let silence take them both over before Smokey's voice came over the radio as the turret started firing at something.

"A little help here Ghost!"

"You heard the man fire!" he shouted as Reaper's shot bounced off the armor of the turret but still did some significant damage while Ghost's shot sent the turret up in smoke as it ceased firing and pointed towards the ground clearly not functioning.

"Good job man. Now let's...O SHIT!" shouted Ghost as his eyes widened. Turning around, Reaper noticed that there was an Officer standing with a Sectoid and a giant 8 ft tall white robot was staring them down from the open field to their right. The reason he shouted was because the robot was kneeling on the ground as it launched rockets at them with a launcher on its back. As the rockets flew towards them at high speeds, Reaper felt a strong feeling come over him as he grabbed Ghost and had a purple barrier encase the two of them as the rockets impacted the tower sending it careening down to the ground.

* * *

== With Group 1 ==

Hearing the explosion, the trio rushed over and saw the three enemies still grouped together as they took in the site of the smoldering tower remains on the ground without their comrades anywhere in site. Enraged at the site, Smokey launched a grenade that sent shrapnel into all of the targets. The Officer was killed instantly by the blast, while the robot's armor was shredded and the Sectoid was badly wounded. Capitalizing on the two's weakened states, Watkins unloaded his rifle into the Sectoid finishing it off, while Kelly moved up close and sent buckshot into the robot causing it to fall backwards and explode slightly as smoke erupted from it.

The three then raced over to the tower to see a truly remarkable site. The smoke was slowly clearing as the group saw their two snipers still encased in a purple sphere that dropped once the two were out of the rubble pile and Reaper fell to his knees in clear exhaustion with a slight nosebleed.

"Here let me take a look at it Reaper I should have something to staunch the bleeding in one of my Medikits. Scooter!" said Watkins as the two went to work on stopping Reaper's bloody nose while Ghost stared in shock at the young man.

 _'He's just like Smokey!'_ he thought as Smokey could read the thoughts going through his comrades head. He just nodded at him with a smile to reassure him that he knew and would be helping him in the future control his gift.

"Reaper what the hell was that?!" asked Kelly clearly surprised by what happened.

"I honestly don't know, I just felt this feeling come over me and next thing I know, we're in a purple dome of energy being saved from a collapsing tower of rubble." he said in a cold voice clearly not happy with not knowing the answers to her question. Seeing the situation clearly deteriorating Watkins put a halt to the argument that was likely going to happen.

"Kelly please stop upsetting my patient, otherwise I won't get the blood to stop." he said in a scolding tone as she looked away and went with Smokey to reach the door to the facility, while Ghost remained on Overwatch near the two until the patchwork was done.

* * *

== A Few Minutes Later ==

The group was back together as the door was breached and the fivesome entered the ground floor of the facility and saw massive amounts of tanks rise up out of a green liquid on the floor before sinking back down into them. Looking inside them they all realized that there were missing humans inside every single one of them.

"Not again." said Ghost in an angered tone as he looked at Smokey for confirmation and received a nod in return.

"Great they're kidnapping humans again. Ain't that just swell." said Ghost sarcastically as the others shared his sentiments. Before the conversation could go any farther, the door on their left opened and a patrol featuring a snake, a Trooper, and a Officer entered and took cover behind some equipment as the soldiers took cover to avoid getting their heads shot off. Smokey realizing that the three were still bunched together, dropped a grenade between them destroying their cover as the Trooper died in the resulting explosion.

With them exposed to the open, they were made quick work of by Ghost and Reaper as they each dropped the snake and the Officer respectively.

"Requiescat in Pace." said Reaper quietly as the two were instructed by Smokey to secure the second floor of the facility while the other three moved towards the control room at the far end of the facility.

* * *

== On the Upper Floor ==

The two stealthily made their way across the catwalks taking great care not to alert any enemies to their position. Reaching a closed door, the two set up on either side and drew their secondary weapons. Using hand signs, Ghost instructed Reaper to take the right side of the room while he would take the left. Nodding in understanding, the two breached the room and saw nothing indicating that the room was empty save for a few desks with files strewn all about them. It gave the appearance that someone was leaving in a hurry but were interrupted by something.

"Let's look through these and see if we can find anything useful to take back with us for the Resistance." said Ghost as he started going through the desks on the left side of the room.

"Okay." replied Reaper in his normal bored voice as he searched the right side of the room. Initially coming up with nothing, Ghost noticed a hatch leading towards the roof and decided to head up there and clear it out of any enemy presence. Looking back he saw Reaper still going through the files on his side of the room.

"Find anything good yet?"

"Nope."

"Alright I'm going to clear the roof, you coming?"

"In a moment, not done going through these yet."

"Got it. Don't fall too far behind." said Ghost jokingly as he climbed up the ladder and through the hatch with his Magnum drawn leaving Reaper by himself.

 _'Finally he's gone. Now why would ADVENT have a file like this here of all places?'_ thought the sniper as he pulled the file from the bottom of the pile he was looking at. It was a simple manila folder with a name in black Sharpie® written on it.

 _Jacob Noire "Subject Zero"_

 _'This can't be my name can it?'_ he thought as he opened the file to see a picture of himself inside of a stasis tank similar to the one that the humans downstairs were in with a whole bunch of probes attached to his body.

 _'What the utter fuck?! What is going on!'_ he thought as he scanned the written notes from one of the scientists conducting the research.

 _Subject Zero was recovered from a small neighborhood in Tupper Lake, New York. Despite some resistance he was successfully captured and the town destroyed to cover up ADVENT's actions. Despite the abilities showcased in his earlier life, the process to draw them out was unsuccessful. The project was then terminated by the higher ups and Subject Zero's mind was wiped to prevent anyone finding out what happened to him._

 _'There's no fucking way.'_ thought Reaper as a photo fell out of the file and he picked it up. In it, it showed a neighborhood being leveled by various types of ADVENT troops as Reaper was shown being dragged away by a research team under heavy sedation. Reaper suddenly dropped the photo as he gripped his head in pain as a vision ran through his mind.

The scene showed a younger version of Reaper happily playing in the front yard of his home which was a beautiful two story house made out of red brick and was next to identical houses on either side. What made this house stand out was the address located in big black numbers on the golden mailbox next to the house's front door, '1777 Thompson Square'. The vision then ended as Reaper was on his knees again clutching his head as the purple energy from before was violently radiating from his body.

"Bro you okay?" asked Ghost as he dropped back in and the energy left the area around Reaper as he slowly regained himself before standing up with the files safely tucked inside of his armor so Ghost couldn't see them.

"I believe so." he replied in his normal tone despite the emotional images he'd just read about and witnessed.

"You sure? Cause I'm pretty sure your 'gift' is acting up." said Ghost as Reaper looked at him confused.

"Gift? What are you talking about?" asked Reaper in his same tone, but the wording gave away that he was trying to sound questioning and confused.

"Never mind, we'll talk about it back at base. Come on." said Ghost as the two climbed out onto the roof and awaited their next orders.

* * *

== On the Ground Floor ==

The trio slowly made their way towards the control room at the end of the building as they took great care not to fall into the liquid below them since they had no idea if it would harm them or not. The three reached the end room without incident as a vial seemed to be held in suspension in midair above a workstation.

"Shen are you getting any readings from that thing?" asked Bradford as the Engineering head was running tests on it using her equipment looking for any signs of hazardous materials.

"My scanners aren't picking up any nuclear readings or anything else of that magnitude. Whatever is in that thing is safe to handle." she replied as Bradford nodded before turning back to the screen.

"Whatever's in there holds the next piece of the Avatar Project's puzzle. Secure that thing and bring it back here for analysis." said Bradford as Scooter came forward and disabled the machine and catching the vial before it broke on the floor as the suspension fell.

No sooner had the vial been removed did alarms start going off all over the facility. It looks like you guys have ADVENT reinforcements coming down on your position. Get to the evac point before things get out of hand!" ordered Bradford as the three rushed to the left exit and gunned down a squad of troopers that were standing outside of the door.

The three noticed the evac zone was atop a small rocky cliff face marked with the familiar blue smoke. What was disconcerting was that there was red smoke near the area as an ADVENT dropship came down and dropped off an Officer accompanied by two Stun Lancers. Seeing no other option, the squad took cover at the bottom of the cliff as they awaited the Snipers to open up on the enemy.

* * *

== On the Roof ==

The two men had reached the edge of the building's left side and saw the same thing as their counterparts did. Wasting little time, the two opened up on them and dropped the Officer and one of the Lancers before they could react. The third soldier saw the two on the roof and jumped off the cliff to try and reach them, but came face to face with Kelly's shotgun as the blast ripped half of its face away as it fell back violently into the wall of the cliff. The three then began scaling the cliff as more reinforcements came down, this time it was a Sectoid and two Troopers. The two troopers were easily dispatched by the rifles of Ghost and Reaper as the Sectoid looked at the three climbing the cliff and smiled devilishly before using Psionic energy to send a wave at Kelly.

"Huh where am I?" she asked confused as she looked around while letting go of the cliff face. Seeing that she would fall, Watkins reached back and grabbed her with his right hand as he hoisted her up onto his right shoulder as he hung there with only one arm. Smokey having reached the top of the cliff unloaded on the Sectoid with his minigun riddling it with lead as it fell back deader than a doornail. He then reached down with his hand to grab Kelly from Watkins as he was able to readjust his grip and scale the wall. The three made it to the evac zone as they turned to provide cover for the others. Ghost and Reaper both took off in a dead sprint for the cliff as more reinforcements dropped down in the form of two Troopers and an Officer as they rained magnetic projectiles at the retreating forms of the XCOM snipers.

Both managed to climb the wall unscathed as they grabbed their secondary weapons. Ghost unloaded a Magnum shot into one Trooper's face guard killing them, while Reaper charged the other two. The second trooper was gunned down by Smokey's minigun as Reaper dodged the Officer's errant shots before lodging his katana into the Officer's throat.

"Go once more into the breach and find the beauty you so desired to create. Requiescat in Pace." he said as he pulled the katana up through the Officer's head slicing it clean in two vertically. He then kneeled over his other two kills and repeated his chant of 'Requiescat in Pace.' before rejoining the others at the evac site as the five simultaneously grabbed their own ropes and headed back towards base as the site was suddenly engulfed in a bombardment of explosions.

"Looks like ADVENT had a backup plan in case anyone was ever here that wasn't supposed to be. Good thing I've got it all on Scooter's camera." said Watkins in a happy tone as the others patted him on the back for his quick thinking as they all relaxed at the feeling of another job well done. Though they all collectively knew that this war was far from over.

* * *

 **AN: And cut! That's a wrap on this chapter as the Blacksite is down with no serious injuries, though Reaper now knows some information about his past and why he couldn't remember anything. What will he do with this information? Find out next time in another chapter of 'XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors'! Also, don't forget to leave a review and also please follow and favorite if you are enjoying what you're seeing. This is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **\- PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	14. Take It On Back

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER!**

 **Hey everyone, hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and got everything you wanted to get. I know it's a few days late, but here's the next chapter of "XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors!" hope you all enjoy and if you have any question feel free to ask in a review. Let's get started!**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Take It On Back**

== Flight Back to Base ==

The squad was celebrating the whole way back to base as they had pulled off the biggest blow to ADVENT's operation thus far in the Resistance campaign. Without a doubt the Avatar project would be delayed severely by the destruction of one of their key facilities and the loss of precious research materials. The only person not participating in the celebration was Reaper as he was still lost in his own world trying to process the information he just found.

 _'So they kidnapped me because of some 'gift' that I possessed when I was younger. According to Ghost, this thing seems to be manifesting now for some reason. Maybe my memory's jumpstart helped with that? In any event, I'm going to need to find a way to visit my hometown and try to find some more information.'_

Noticing the young man's thoughtful expression, Ghost came over to see if everything was okay.

"Reaper, you look like you're lost in thought about something. What's got you so preoccupied?"

"Nothing important, just thinking about things you know." replied Reaper in his bored tone.

"Yeah I guess, come on and lighten up man we just scored a huge victory!"

"Nah I'll pass, I've never really been one for celebrations, not my style."

"Whatever floats your boat." said Ghost as he rejoined the others and left Reaper to his own devices as he figured out a plan of action by the time they returned to base.

* * *

== Back at Base ==

The two aircraft returned nearly simultaneously as the two groups were greeted with cheers and celebrations from the crew and other soldiers. Watkins made sure to drop off his footage and the vial to Dr. Tygan's team before he went and joined the others as a party was getting ready to begin. As he entered the Barracks he spotted Gabriella dropping off her gear as she'd stopped by the Infirmary to make sure Lucifer got his wound treated. Looking up she blushed lightly as her crush entered.

"Hey Gabriella, what's up? You guys have a mission or something?" he asked as he got Scooter back onto his charging station to get refueled and restocked.

"Yeah actually, Deadeye, Tower, Lucifer and myself were deployed to Galveston to assist the Resistance forces down there with a supply raid which went rather well despite encountering a snake-like unit that Bradford seemed to recognize as a revamped Thin Man."

"Yeah we had the same thing happen on ours, but we also ran into one of their MEC units to. Nearly blew up Reaper and Ghost if Reaper's 'gift' didn't save them."

"Gift?" she questioned.

"Ghost speculated that Reaper is psionically gifted like Smokey."

"Really, how do you know this?"

"Overheard them talking on the mission while I was patching Reaper's bloody nose."

"Ah. Hey James can I ask you something?" she said rather shyly after a few moments of silence between them.

"Yeah what's on your mind Gabs?" he said using his nickname for her as she blushed lightly at it.

"Well, I was wondering if you had feelings for me?" she said as he stopped taking of his uniform and blushed at her question.

"Wha-wha-what b-b-brought this on Gabs?" he said stuttering slightly.

"Well Deadeye reminded me that one of us may not come back from these missions at anytime so I wanted to see if you felt the way I do about you. And judging from your blush I appear to be right." she said in a strong tone despite her burning red cheeks. James wasn't much better as he was in the same boat as her.

"Y-y-y-yes I-I-I d-do Gabs." he said honestly as he knew he couldn't cover up his feelings anymore.

"I've always been attracted to you, but I wasn't sure to how to approach you about it. Besides I've never really been good with figuring out a girl's feelings." he said as he stared at his hands finding them very interesting at the moment. She smiled softly at his admission before raising his chin up so he was looking right into her eyes.

"Well I've felt the same way about you since you took over the medic job back at the camp. I just was worried that you didn't feel the same way. But, now I know that's no longer a problem." she said as their faces were dangerously close together at this point. Never once looking away from the two met in a heated lip lock that lasted a few good minutes before the need for air broke them apart.

"W-wow!" said James as he huffed in deep breaths of air.

"Wow indeed James." she said in a similar manner.

"So you want to go on a date with me the next time we head back to the headquarters? I saw a nice place we could eat there." offered James.

"It's a date James! So happy to hear you finally make a move!" she exclaimed as they embraced in a warm hug and engaged in another lip lock that involved a heated tongue battle.

*Eh Hem*

Sadly for them, the kiss ended much too quickly as they broke apart and looked up t see Kyle standing there with a smug grin on his face. The two blushed darkly as they realized that they were caught by their best friend.

"About time you two got together." laughed Kyle as he hugged both of them.

"Gabs finally gets to open up to her crush, and my man James becoming a playa with the ladies." he said as they blushed even more while he let lose a jovial laugh at the situation.

"What are you doing here Kyle?" asked James.

"Looking for you, Clay and I are ready to perform when you decide to show up at the Recreation Room." said the Southerner as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Shit you're right, I forgot!" exclaimed James as he finished getting dressed and grabbed his guitars.

"Forgot what?" asked Gabriella.

"I promised Kyle that he could play with us the next time Clay and I decided to perform for everyone. And after a victory like that, I don't see a reason not to."

"You can play Kyle?"

"Yeah I love Country music with a passion. I was actually looking to become a Country singer before the war happened. I managed to find myself an acoustic guitar and electric guitar when we were last at headquarters. So I've started practicing again, and asked Clay and James if I could play and well here we are." he summarized.

"Cool. Let's get going then!" said Gabriella as the three left the Barracks and headed towards the Recreation Room.

* * *

== In the Recreation Room ==

The crowd was happily talking amongst themselves as they awaited the musical performance that they were expecting to receive from the resident gifted performers. Pretty much everyone on the ship was in attendance with the exception of Lucifer who was in the Infirmary and Reaper who retired to his room to sleep. Clay was just finishing the final tuning of his guitar, when James and Kyle entered with their own instruments. He then saw James give Gabriella a quick kiss before joining them on stage, as Clay could only smile in happiness that his friend finally confessed his feelings.

"I see someone was busy." said Clay suggestively as James blushed but nodded none the less in content at being together with Gabriella.

"Yeah, I'm so glad she feels the same way as me." he said in a dreamy sigh.

"Good for you little man. Now let's get ready to rock this show!" he said as he stepped up to the microphone on the left hand side of the stage as he toted a red and black Squier® Jaguar® bass guitar.

"What's up everybody!?" he asked as the crowd cheered for them to start the show.

"I hope you all are ready as we have a new performer joining us tonight!" The crowd wondered who it was, but most already knew since they saw him earlier getting his gear together.

"Please welcome Kyle Jensen to center stage!"

The crowd cheered as Kyle stepped up holding a yellow Gretsch® 6128 electric guitar as he was dressed in his white t-shirt tucked into his blue jeans coupled with a leather belt, his camo hat, and a pair of brown Red Wing® boots. The music then began once he nodded to both Clay and James. (Song is "MERICA" by Granger Smith as his persona Earl Dibbles Jr. I own no rights to the song as they belong solely to Mr. Smith and Wheelhouse Records. Clay is on bass, James is Rhythm Guitar, and Kyle is Lead Guitar and Vocals. Both James and Clay provide backing vocals.)

I got my one strap snapped on my Liberty Bibs  
Wad of Levi Garrett packed between my lip and my gum  
'Merica

Got mud kickin' off of my red wing boots  
Sweat stained tank top in my fruit of the looms  
Keep it tucked  
'Merica

We're back to back undefeated world war champs **(Hoorah!)**  
So take a cup, raise it up for my Uncle Sam  
You know we sent a man to the moon  
And before we're done  
Yeah we'll probably send a man to the sun  
'Merica

Got a twelve gauge Remington on my gun rack  
Stars and stripes flying high off the back of my truck  
Course it's four by four  
'Merica

Buck antlers, Colonel Sanders, General Lee  
Home of the brave and land of that Yee Yee  
And country girls  
'Merica

We're back to back undefeated world war champs **(Hooah!)**  
So take a cup, raise it up for my Uncle Sam  
You know we sent a man to the moon  
And before we're done  
Yeah we'll probably send a man to the sun  
'Merica  
Buck, truck, Chuck Norris

*Insert Kyle's Guitar Solo*

I pledge allegiance to the flag of 'Merica  
I crack a cold one and tip it on back to 'Merica  
I got a right to bear arms for my barbed wire tat in 'Merica  
I'm gonna warn ya if you try to attack 'Merica

That we're back to back undefeated world war champs **(Hoorah!)**  
So take a cup, raise it up to my Uncle Sam  
There's about a zillion reasons to love where I'm from  
But all you really gonna need is one  
'Merica

*Talking*

That's right. 'Merica. US and A. We invented mud tires, aluminum cans, and freedom! I'm from 'Merica, How bout' you? Got that right. In 1776 Uncle Sam and this bald eagle found Lady Liberty and her Rocky Mountains. They knocked boots, yelled YEE YEE, and Boom! There it was. Just like that. 'Merica was born.

*Music Stops*

I'm Kyle Blake Jensen and I approve this message. YEE YEE!

Once the shout was made, Kyle bowed to the crowd as they started cheering for his song and the others on stage clapped for him.

"Thanks everyone. Now let me turn it over to Clay here as he takes us on another musical journey of his. Take it away bro!" he exclaimed as he grabbed the bass guitar from Clay and took his original spot as Clay took Kyle's spot at the center mic.

"Alright guys, I wrote this next song about my experiences back at the camp when the attacks went down and how it's made me stronger today. Hit it!" (Song is "Indestructible" by Disturbed. Clay is on lead vocals, James is on Guitar, and Kyle is on Bass. I own no rights to the song as they belong to the band.)

*Song Opens with an Air Raid siren and multiple explosions occurring as they start playing over it.*

Another mission  
The powers have called me away  
Another time  
To carry the colors again  
My motivation  
An oath I've sworn to defend  
To win the honor  
Of coming back home again  
No explanation  
Will matter after we begin  
Unlock the dark destroyer that's buried in me  
My true vocation  
And now my unfortunate friend  
You will discover  
A war you're unable to win

I'll have you know  
That I've become

Indestructible  
Determination that is incorruptible  
From the other side  
A terror to behold  
Annihilation will be unavoidable  
Every broken enemy will know  
That their opponent had to be invincible  
Take a last look around while you're alive  
I'm an indestructible master of war

Another reason  
Another cause for me to fight  
Another fuse uncovered  
Now, for me to light  
My dedication  
To all that I've sworn to protect  
I carry out my orders  
With not a regret  
A declaration  
Embedded deep under my skin  
A permanent reminder  
Of how we began  
No hesitation  
When I am commanding the strike  
You need to know  
That you're in for the fight of your life

You will be shown  
How I've become

Indestructible  
Determination that is incorruptible  
From the other side  
A terror to behold  
Annihilation will be unavoidable  
Every broken enemy will know  
That their opponent had to be invincible  
Take a last look around while you're alive  
I'm an indestructible master of war

*Insert Guitar Solo from James*

I'm...

Indestructible  
Determination that is incorruptible  
From the other side  
A terror to behold  
Annihilation will be unavoidable  
Every broken enemy will know  
That their opponent had to be invincible  
Take a last look around while you're alive  
I'm an indestructible master of war

Indestructible  
Determination that is incorruptible  
From the other side  
A terror to behold  
Annihilation will be unavoidable  
Every broken enemy will know  
That their opponent had to be invincible  
Take a last look around while you're alive  
I'm an indestructible master of war

The music then played for another fifteen or so seconds before ending as the crowd cheered once again as Clay then motioned for James to step over as they traded spots while Clay grabbed his guitar from its stand and took James' original spot on the right hand side of the stage.

"Hey there everyone I hope you're enjoying the show so far! Anyway, I wrote this one for a special someone here at base. She already said yes to this question, but I still feel that it's appropriate to play it. Let's rock! (Song is "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet. All rights to the song belong to the now defunct group. Kyle is on bass, Clay is on Rhythm Guitar, and James on Vocals and Lead Guitar.)

*Song opens with a ten second Bass line from Kyle before the Drums and Guitars join*

Go!

So one, two, three, take my hand and come with me

Because you look so fine

That I really wanna make you mine.

I say you look so fine

That I really wanna make you mine.

Oh, four, five, six c'mon and get your kicks

Now you don't need that money

When you look like that, do ya honey.

Big black boots,

Long brown hair,

She's so sweet

With her get back stare.

Well I could see,

You home with me,

But you were with another man, yeah!

I know we,

Ain't got much to say,

Before I let you get away, yeah!

I said, are you gonna be my girl?

*Insert short instrumental break*

Well, so one, two, three, take my hand and come with me

Because you look so fine

That I really wanna make you mine.

I say you look so fine

That I really wanna make you mine.

Oh, four, five, six c'mon and get your kicks

Now you don't need that money

With a face like that, do ya.

Big black boots,

Long brown hair,

She's so sweet

With her get back stare.

Well I could see,

You home with me,

But you were with another man, yeah!

I know we,

Ain't got much to say,

Before I let you get away, yeah!

I said, are you gonna be my girl?

*Insert Guitar Solo from James*

Oh yeah, oh yeah, c'mon!

I could see,

You home with me,

But you were with another man, yeah!

I know we,

Ain't got much to say,

Before I let you get away, yeah!

Uh, be my girl.

Be my girl.

Are you gonna be my girl?

Yeah.

The song ended as everyone cheered and applauded the guys' efforts as Gabriella jumped on the stage and made out with James in front of everyone. Everyone was a little shocked, but cheered them on and even gave them a few catcalls and wolf whistles. Before the concert could continue, an alarm rang out through the base as the Commander and Bradford rushed back to Central Command to find out what was wrong.

"Report!" said the Commander to the tech who was still at his post.

"It appears as though someone has stolen Spitfire's chopper sir! It's leaving the base at a rapid pace towards the Eastern United States northern district."

"Follow it! I want the thief caught ASAP!" ordered the Commander as the Avenger took off after it.

* * *

== During the Third Song (Flashback) ==

Reaper quietly exited his room as he made his way towards the Hangars. Knowing that everyone else was at the party in the Recreation Room, he ran a very slim chance of actually being caught in the act of doing what he was about to do.

 _Spitfire's ship is going to be the easier of the two to steal. I need to head back to my old house, I have a feeling that I'll find all the answers to my still unanswered questions there.'_

Reaching the second hangar, Reaper approached the ship and saw that Spitfire was still in the cockpit running a diagnostics check on his pride and joy.

"Don't worry girl, just a quick sweep and you'll be cleared to fly again in no time. Ah perfect timing!" he said as the check finished and he prepared to turn the bird off. The sound of a gun cocking as the cylinder spun into position stopped him in his tracks as he felt cold steel pressed into the back of his head.

"Fly and you'll get to live another day." said Reaper coldly as he kept the Magnum pressed to Spitfire's head to back up his claim.

''Alright man, chill I'll cooperate." said Spitfire as he raised his hands in surrender.

"Good! Now step on it and set coordinates to Tupper Lake, New York in District 2 of the Eastern United States." said Reaper as he took a seat in the co-pilot's seat. Looking over, Spitfire recognized the young sharpshooter, but was confused as to his reasons for doing this.

"What game are you playing Reaper?" asked Spitfire as he prepared to take off as the rotors spun faster.

"I'm finding out my past. Now be quiet and fly." he said as he drew his katana and placed it to Spitfire's throat.

"Roger that Reaper." said Spitfire as the Chinook took off towards their destination, unknowingly alerting everyone else to the commotion.

* * *

== With Lucifer ==

Lucifer heard the alarm going off, and got up from his bed in the Infirmary section of the Advanced Warfare Center. Wondering what was happening, he looked over to May Kanker who was in charge as she hoped to become a Doctor once she entered medical school after high school.

"Hey May! What's going on?"

"No idea Lucifer. I was wondering that myself."

"Want to go check it out? They're probably in Central Command." offered Lucifer as she nodded to his request.

"You go on ahead, I'm going to check on my buddy Reaper." he said as they separated after exiting the center. May headed left towards the Central Command, while Lucifer headed right towards the Barracks. Arriving at his friend's door, he knocked twice before listening for Reaper's voice. Not hearing anything which was odd, he opened the door to see the photos and documents Reaper brought back spread out on his desk. Scanning over them, Lucifer gasped before grabbing them and heading towards the Command Center.

"Sir!" exclaimed Lucifer as he entered the room.

"Shouldn't you be resting Lucifer?" asked the Commander as he saw the look on the young man's face.

"What's going on sir?"

"Someone has stolen Spitfire's ship and we're following them towards their destination.""

"You're gonna want to see this then. It'll explain everything." said Lucifer as he handed over the documents. After scanning over them, the Commander sighed in exasperation as he rubbed his temples.

"I swear this kid is rather impulsive. I need two strike teams ready to go once we land. Team one's mission is to secure the Chinook and make sure Spitfire is alright, while Team two's mission is to bring Reaper back in once he reaches his home and make sure he is okay. Don't use force unless absolutely necessary."

"Why's that sir?" asked Kyle.

"Because Reaper is psionically gifted." said Smokey shocking the room. Looking into his friend's eyes, Ghost realized what was going through his head as he continued his line of thought.

"And with his gift acting up, he may attack us if he feels threatened. Once he finds the answers he's looking for we'll be all set and he should be calm enough to come back with us."

"Alright, so who's on what team?" asked Bradford as he had his sheet ready to document the teams.

It ended up working out that Ice, Dozer, Lockdown, and Gabriella would be on Team One, while Lucifer, Tower, James now known by his callsign "Doc", Clay, and Ghost would be on Team Two. The nine soldiers got ready as the ship began to slow down as they reached their destination.

* * *

== On the Ground ==

The two teams split up after wishing each other luck and went about their duties. Team One reached the aircraft without incident as they peered inside to see Spitfire duct-taped to his chair as he was relieved to see them.

"Thank God! I was worried you guys wouldn't be coming." he said as Lockdown sliced through the tape with a knife Clay had given her as a gift.

"What happened Spitfire?" asked Ice as Gabriella checked him over for any injuries.

"Reaper snuck up on me while I was finishing my diagnostic run on the Chinook. He then put his pistol to my head and told me to fly or die. As you can see I chose fly."

"Did he say why he was doing this?" asked Gabriella as she was satisfied that he was okay physically.

"Just that he wanted to find out about his past."

"Understood Spitfire. Commander, we've secured the Chinook, and Spitfire is okay. Requesting new orders." radioed Dozer.

"Reading you loud and clear Team One. Stay put and keep the Chinook under guard. We don't want any ambushes catching you off guard. You'll depart once Team Two returns with or without Reaper." said the Commander.

"Roger that sir." said Dozer as she set up the team's defenses around the chopper. Nothing of interest happened as they awaited for the other team to return.

* * *

== With Team Two ==

The team progressed slowly through the woods and the peaceful scenery as they remained on guard for an ambush from either ADVENT or Reaper. As they reached a clearing, they stopped as they saw a whole patrol of four troopers slaughtered by a katana and a Magnum. Taking in the scene, Clay could only whistle impressed at what he saw.

"This has to be Reaper's doing." he said as Lucifer nodded recognizing his friend's handiwork. With nothing else to say, Tower collected the loot off of their bodies, before they continued onwards into the destroyed town.

* * *

== Flashback (5 Minutes Earlier) ==

Reaper was silently walking towards his destination as he found a map of the area in the ADVENT notes and was following it to the town. Reaching the edge of a clearing, he stopped as he heard movement up ahead. Crouching down in the shrubbery, he observed the four man patrol that had stopped in the clearing in front of him observing some tracks they found in the dirt. Looking closely, Reaper recognized human footprints and wondered whom it was the group was tracking. Dismissing the thoughts for later, he saw that one of the troops was dangerously close to his position in front of him.

Quickly formulating a plan, he jumped out behind the soldier, and stabbed his katana through the male trooper's heart getting a scream from the man. The other soldiers turned towards the shout and raised their weapons as Reaper drew faster and dropped one of them with a headshot from his pistol. The other two rushed him as he kicked the dead body off of his sword as they were knocked down by the sudden action. One recovered quickly and tried to run at Reaper, but he fired off a round into the trooper's leg causing them to fall forward into the dirt as he clutched his leg in pain. The other soldier got out from under the body and raised up, but received a look full of rage as Reaper drove his katana right between the eyes of the soldier. The body twitched for a few moments, before going limp as he withdrew his sword from its forehead. Turning around, he quickly fired a round through the trooper's hand as he tried to fire his weapon at him. With nothing else to defend himself, the trooper attempted to crawl away but Reaper was having none of that. He walked over and flipped the man over, before looking him dead in the eyes and saying in his coldest tone possible.

"Now you know how helpless my family and neighbors were. See you in hell." he said as he put the last bullet in his chamber through the trooper's helmet and into his brain.

Looking around at the carnage, Reaper just nonchalantly cleaned his sword, before reloading his gun and saying aloud.

"Requiescat in Pace motherfuckers." He then promptly left the clearing towards his destination.

== Flashback End ==

* * *

== Back with Reaper ==

Reaper reached the town square as he looked around at the remains before feeling sadness for the first time in many years. Pushing those thoughts away, he reached his destination as he took in the dilapidated building that he grew up in.

 _'Finally I've come back home.'_

Approaching the door, he saw that it was barely hanging onto the hinges and giving it a soft pull opened it with a loud squeak. Entering the foyer he looked around and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary as everything looked destroyed. Reaching the staircase, he felt energy drawing him up the stairs and to his right as he turned right into the hallway as he saw a blue door that had small plastic letters on it.

 _Jacob's Room_

 _'A little obvious maybe.'_ he thought as he pushed open the door and was immediately hit with a slew of memories that showed him playing in her many times during his youth. Pushing them aside, he walked in and saw a photo on the desk in a small frame. Picking it up, he examined it and saw a younger version of him about five years old with his parents hugging him as he smiled. What really through him for a loop though, was that he was floating in the air with them around him.

All of a sudden, he gripped his head as another memory hit him full force.

* * *

== Memory Starts ==

 _Reaper was shown levitating various objects and laughing about his fun ability, while his parents were talking with two individuals. One was a Korean male about 6' 2'' and wearing a XCOM uniform, the other was a red-headed Scottish female standing around 5' 10'' and wearing a female XCOM uniform._

 _"Mr. and Mrs. Noire we know that your son is rather psionically gifted. The tests we ran earlier were showing that he has near elder level abilities. We know that you don't want him to be used as a weapon, but from the rumors we've heard you'll want him to stop his usage of them." said the male grimly as he looked at the couple._

 _"Why's that Maj. Han?" asked Mr. Noire._

 _"He'll be hunted down by others who'll want his power. I'd recommend moving soon." said the female in a sad tone._

 _The two parents looked at one another worriedly before they nodded and turned back to the soldiers._

 _"We understand Maj. Blunt. We'll tell him after you leave."_

 _"Understood Mrs. Noire. We'll be taking our leave now." said Maj. Han as the two left and the parents looked at their son having fun before frowning at what they were told._

* * *

== Memory Ends ==

 _'So that's why my powers were dormant until now. My parents helped me hide them before ADVENT came and murdered them when they tried to protect me. I'll make them pay for this egregious act. Thank you XCOM and my parents for doing this for me.'_ thought Reaper as he felt complete for the first time in a long time.

CRASH! BAM! BAM! BAM!

Hearing the shots and the sound of something falling from the first floor, Reaper exited the room with his gun raised as he ran towards the commotion.

* * *

== On the First Floor ==

Reaper reached the landing on the second floor, and peered over the railing as he saw three humans hiding against the destroyed broken brick wall as they were firing back against what he assumed to be ADVENT forces outside of the house.

"FUCK! I knew that we hadn't lost them!" exclaimed the first individual as he returned fire with an old hunting rifle. He was a Caucasian male and appeared to be about 6' 6'' and wore a blood red t-shirt, and black jeans over top of black Under Armour® sneakers. He also wore a blood red baseball cap, and a pair of black glasses with yellow lenses. The other noticeable thing about him was that he spoke with a Texan accent.

"Relax cuz. We'll fight em off." said the second figure, a 6' 4'' African-American male holding a .45 pistol as he took pot shots from his cover behind the couch in the living room. He was wearing a black t-shirt, tattered blue jeans, and black Jordan® 12 Retro sneakers with Black/Metallic Gold Wings. He had dreadlocks, and a toothpick hanging out of his mouth as he spoke with a Chicagoan accent.

"We're officially screwed if they get behind us!" said the third member of the group holding a MP5 submachine gun. She was about 5' 8'' and was Caucasian and wore a pink hoodie over top of a blue t-shirt, a pair of light blue jeans, faded Converse sneakers, and had her black hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"Maybe I can help." said Reaper in his tone that now sounded a little more energetic than normal as the three jumped and aimed their guns at him, before lower them as they realized he wasn't in ADVENT.

"Who are you?" asked the first male warily with his gun still ready to be brought up in case the stranger tried anything.

"I'm Jacob "Reaper" Noire and I'm with the XCOM resistance effort against ADVENT." he said as the three sighed in relief.

"Finally! We've been looking all over for you guys." said the female member as the three still stayed in cover and continued taking pot shots at ADVENT.

"Yeah, our ship is constantly on the move to try and keep ADVENT from finding us." explained Reaper as he joined them and struck down a Trooper who peeked his head out of cover.

"Man, that's the best news we've heard in awhile. Can we come with you homie?" asked the African-American as he also scored a kill on another Trooper.

"I don't see why not. We just have to wait for my other soldiers to catch up." said Reaper.

"Great let's keep up the pressure guys!" exclaimed the Texan as he picked off a third trooper.

* * *

== With Team Two ==

"You guys seeing this?" asked Tower as he surveyed the proceedings going on outside of Reaper's childhood home.

"Yep." said Clay as he got his drone ready for battle.

"I've got a plan." said Ghost.

"What's that Ghost?" asked Doc.

"Hit their flank fast and hard before they recover and realize what's going on. Clay get your drone to hack the turret on that APC. Once that's tearing into them, we strike."

"On it Ghost. Let's go Ōkami." said Clay as his drone moved quickly behind the turret which was raining down magnetic rounds into the house. The drone looked around for a few moments, before finding the right code to override the programming orders. Once done, the turret stooped firing and shut down for a split second, before coming back online and aiming down towards the ADVENT troopers and Officers.

They didn't stand a chance as they were mowed down one after the other before the turret was finally destroyed with only five soldiers remaining. The five soldiers then turned their attention back towards the house, before being hit from behind again as the XCOM soldiers burst from their cover and took them all down simultaneously. Everyone claimed a kill except for Clay as he was getting his drone back to him before joining them.

"Reaper, mate you in there?" asked Lucifer as he walked out into the open.

"Yeah I'm coming out, and I've got friends." said Reaper as he walked out with his hands up and his weapons holstered.

"Friends?" asked Tower as the three fugitives walked out behind him with their weapons down.

"XCOM we've finally found you." said the Chicagoan as he seemed relieved. Before any other conversation could occur, Doc rushed towards the Texan.

"Mitchell!? Is that you man, I thought you were dead!" said Doc as he and the Texan exchanged high-fives and a chest bump before giving each other fist bump.

"Man James you're a sight for sore eyes." said the Texan.

"Alright I'm confused mate." said Lucifer.

"Mitchell and I used to play CS:GO together all the time back in high school. We were thinking about going pro, but I decided to go to college instead. What have you been doing?"

"Well I became an MMA fighter and was about to go pro before all of this went down. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mitchell Fragman."

"I'm Jackson Mercilus originally from Chicago, Illinois. I'm a former car mechanic who looked to go pro in basketball. Sadly, I couldn't get into college so I took a job in an auto shop to try and save up enough money then all this shit went down and I'm fighting for my life on the streets." said the African-American male as he introduced himself before motioning for the female to go.

"I'm Cassidy Hennessey and I'm from Rome, Georgia. I was a Business Major at Georgia Tech, but then the attacks happened and well I went on the run to avoid getting put into those gene therapy clinics ADVENT has. I just got a weird feeling from them." said the female member in a Southern drawl as she looked over her weapon for any problems.

"Well I'm glad that you all want to join our cause. We'll lead you guys back to the Avenger so we can get you entered into the roster. Reaper you're going to have to surrender your weapons." said Ghost as he did so without a fight.

"Why what's going on brotha?" asked Jackson.

"Reaper here hijacked one of our transports to come here against orders to find out about his past. The Commander isn't pleased with him since he would've authorized a mission for it if he asked." said Ghost in his official tone.

"Makes sense." said Cassidy as she slung her gun over her shoulder using the strap attached to the gun.

"Don't worry mate. I'm sure the Commander won't be too hard on ya." said Lucifer.

"More than likely, but you'll probably still be in some trouble. It's only logical." said Tower in a quiet tone.

"Probably, but at least I found peace." said Reaper with a small smile as the group started making its way back to the ship. They arrived fifteen minutes later without incident as they boarded the ship and it took off and regrouped with the Chinook outside of Gettysburg, PA. Once the Chinook was safely on board, the ship took off to avoid anymore ADVENT patrols and to regroup back at headquarters.

* * *

 **AN: And cut! That's a wrap on this chapter! Love it? Hate it? Reaper has now finally found some closure for his past and now even knows his full name. More recruits have joined the team and even know some of the current soldiers. How hard will the Commander be on Reaper? What kind of adventure will befall our main characters next? Find out next time on "XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors"!**

 **Sorry for the long wait, but I wanted to wait until after the holidays to right this and to also finish off the fourth season of my Survivor group game on Tengaged. Come to the link below if you want to check it out and the second link is if you want to apply for it. (Just add www . tengaged . com to the front of it. And please remove the spaces between the addition as this site doesn't like having outside links put into it.)**

 **Game Link: group/8295**

 **Apps Link: group/8219**

 **With nothing else to say, this is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **-PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	15. A House of Horrors

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!**

 **What's up guys, we're back here with another chapter of everyone's favorite XCOM 2 story, "XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors!" After Reaper's actions led to the discovery of his past and also the addition of new soldiers, he was brought back to the Avenger to receive the Commander's punishment. How hard will he be on him, and what will happen next to the XCOM faithful? Find out right now!**

 **Chapter 15: A House of Horrors**

* * *

== Back at Headquarters ==

Reaper was dreading this meeting slightly as he didn't know how bad the Commander's punishment was going to be. Despite his pals' best efforts at reassuring him that it wouldn't be too bad, he couldn't shake the doubt that was creeping into his mind. Before getting too lost in his doubts, he reached the Commander's office as he was walking down the corridor towards it after receiving a message over the intercom to come down this way.

Knocking twice, he paused as he listened for the Commander's approval to enter.

"Come in." said the Commander as Reaper opened the door, and walked in before shutting it quietly behind him.

"Have a seat Noire, no point in delaying the inevitable as I know you hate small talk." said the Commander motioning to the chair in front of his brown oak desk.

"Thank you sir." said Reaper as he was a little relieved that there wouldn't be unnecessary small talk.

"Reaper you took matters into your own hands by stealing XCOM property to do a mission instead of coming to ask me for permission. You put not only yourself, but Spitfire, and your comrades in danger by entering an area with an unknown amount of ADVENT present. Nevertheless, you did manage to bring in some new recruits and did finally discover your past while simultaneously allowing us to destroy one of their regiments of soldiers." said the Commander as he paused to see Reaper still sitting there looking at him with a little bit of sweat rolling down his forehead.

"Taking all of this into account, I've decided to indefinitely relieve you from active duty until you earn that right back." said the Commander bluntly as Reaper let out a small breath as he nodded slightly figuring that was going to be part of the punishment.

"Also, you will be participating in daily training with Smokey to better control your gift as he's the only other soldier that has those kinds of abilities that we know of. Do you have any questions regarding your punishment and or orders moving forward?" asked the Commander.

"No sir."

"Great, dismissed. Your training starts tomorrow morning in the Guerilla Tactics School." said the Commander as Reaper nodded and saluted which the Commander returned. Following that, he left the room and shut the door quietly behind him.

 _'Now that that's over, I can move onto this lead that I got from Little Sister regarding a mostly unknown facility.'_

* * *

== One Week Later ==

The XCOM personnel had been busy over the past week. Eddy had finished work on the Resistance Comms room and had been working on clearing more debris with Ed's help as the Proving Grounds was also done. Lee was busy in there and had developed a new round of ammunition that would set enemies on fire if they were hit with it. She had dubbed them "Dragon Fire" rounds and given them to Clay as he wanted to try them out first hand.

The three rookies had participated in a simple relay protection mission alongside Lockdown and Clay as they succeeded and earned themselves some promotions. Lockdown and Clay were now Corporals, while the rookies got to pick their specializations. Mitchell chose to become a Grenadier, Jackson became a Sharpshooter, and Cassidy became a Ranger.

Another mission came up involving the rescuing of a VIP captured by ADVENT in Tijuana, Mexico. The mission, undertaken by Tower, Ice, Dozer, Gabriella, and Lucifer was a success as they freed the VIP, Fernando Gonzalez, from a patrol vehicle when they stopped for fuel. Ice and Dozer both were promoted to Corporal, while Gabriella, Lucifer and Tower were promoted to Sergeant. Lucifer and Tower both kept their nicknames as their callsigns, while Gabriella chose "Savior" as hers. Gonzalez revealed to the squad that he was a top engineer for NASA and wanted to join their cause where he was placed in the Resistance Comms room to help keep tabs on requests for help.

XCOM had managed to make contact with all of the regions in North America as they reached the Western portion of the continent, and had entered into South America and made contact with New Brazil. The completion of North America had earned them the ability to reduce costs on goods purchased back at HQ and the newly discovered Black Market.

Reaper's training was coming along nicely as he had a better handle on his emotions and the energy that used to run rampant through him. Now it was flowing rather smoothly as he began levitating objects again while simultaneously looking into channeling the energy into other objects.

* * *

== In the Hangar ==

The Commander and Bradford had everyone gathered in the Hangar to share with them a new development regarding the rumor he received a week earlier.

"Alright everyone, settle down so we can make this announcement." said Bradford as the chattering quieted down.

"We've recently received a tip that ADVENT had a facility hidden down here in Brazil away from the public eye. After searching, we've found it a little over one hundred miles away in a dense jungle. Our contact says that the facility appears abandoned, but we don't want any surprises so we're sending in a team that is compromised of both veterans and newer soldiers fully equipped to do battle. Any volunteers?" said the Commander as he gazed around the room as five hands went up immediately.

"Alright, that's Ice, Kyle, Clay, Mitchell, and Jackson. Get geared up and ready to leave in ten. Also, we're deploying these new body cams on all of you so we can watch the events unfold back here and help you if you miss something. Good luck." said Bradford as he noted the squad's composition.

The five soldiers nodded and left to gear up, while the others turned to the wall that was set up for them to watch the operation. It consisted of a big screen, and five smaller screens which had each member's name under it that was involved in the operation. Ten minutes later, the squad left on Firebrand to get to the facility.

* * *

== On the Ground ==

The five soldiers had just disembarked from the Skyranger, as they made their way into the jungle underbrush without saying a word to one another. They reached the facility's location after about fifteen minutes of walking coupled with Jensen using his machete to hack away the vines blocking the path towards the facility.

Gazing upon it, they saw parts of it were definitely beginning to fall apart as there was no lights coming from inside, and parts of the infrastructure were crumbling away as the place had gone what appeared to be a few years without anyone conducting simple maintenance.

"Yeesh, what a fucking dump." said Clay as the others nodded along agreeing with his summation of the place before them.

"Despite that fact, we still need to explore it. Kyle you're on point, Clay and Ōkami behind him with Mitchell, and Jackson is with me watching the rear. Let's move out." said Ice in his professional voice which was rarely used by the Englishman since he rarely ever was in charge for the operations.

The five moved out in the diamond formation, as Jensen eased the door open with a squeak as it was hard to move with no electricity allowing it to automatically open. Entering the lobby, the team was graced with a dark and empty room which showed a thick layer of dust on everything inside. Due to the darkness, the squad turned on their flashlights that were equipped on their weapons so they could better see inside.

"Looks like these homies forgot to call the janitor." said Jackson with a smirk as Mitchell laughed at his friend's quip. The squad was busy just scanning the room with their lights as a spider suddenly dropped down in front of Jensen's flashlight casting a giant shadow on the wall.

"AHHHH!" shouted Jensen in a girly voice as he dropped his gun and jumped behind him into Clay's arms who barely managed to catch the big man. The two younger squad members laughed at this occurrence as Ice shook his head at his squadmates' actions.

"Will you get off of me!" shouted Clay as he unceremoniously dropped Jensen on his ass before pulling out a throwing knife from his vest and skewing the spider to the wall.

"Sorry man, they just scare the hell out of me." said Kyle as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, the act of course knocked his hat off which caused a member back at the base to blush at how handsome he was.

"Guys, focus!" said Ice as they returned to mission mode and moved to open the door into the labs. Opening it, the squad was hit with a strong aroma of blood and decay that caused Jackson to puke behind the desk while the others fought the urge to.

"Good lord that is foul." said Jackson as he pulled out a new toothpick to replace his old one that was lost in the sea of vomit.

"Alright guys, remember breath through your mouths as it'll help a little with the smell. Let's move quick because I don't like the looks of this." said Ice as the squad moved in their formation though, Ice and Jackson drew their .44 Magnums since their rifles were useless close up.

Reaching the center of the room, they looked around and saw numerous corpses lining the room, each more brutally murdered than the last as it appeared the assailant got angrier with the more people they saw. The bodies were vastly scattered between being soldiers and scientists as they were slaughtered indiscriminately by various means, bullets, knives, burns, chemicals, etc..

*Whistle* "This makes Reaper's massacre look like child's play." said Clay as he gazed at the carnage before him. Taking a quick look around, there wasn't anything salvageable so they kept moving deeper into the facility.

* * *

== In the Office Area ==

Entering the next area, they saw various offices with more bodies scattered in the hallway. Seeing as there were five offices, each of the soldiers picked a room as they entered it to check for anything of worth that XCOM could use.

Four of the five came back, after a few moments as the offices were covered in blood, and all the stuff was destroyed while Mitchell had yet to return from his office. A few tense moments later he exited with a journal in his hands, that was caked in blood on the outside but still legible inside.

"What you got there Mitchell?" asked Jackson as he played with his toothpick using his tongue.

"It's a research journal if I'm not mistaken. Ice you're the doctor here can you understand these terms?" asked the Texan as he handed over the journal to the Brit. After a few moments of scanning, he looked up at his squadmates horrified by what he read.

"What's wrong Ice?" asked Kyle noticing the middle aged man's pale expression while Clay raised his eyebrow as he'd never seen Ice like this and the new guys looked on in interest.

"The experiments they ran here violated every rule of the Hippocratic Oath and the Geneva Conventions three times over. They kept people here against their will and tried to create the perfect breed of psionic soldiers for ADVENT's usage." said Ice as the others gasped in shock, while Clay just muttered a very quiet 'Damn.'

"Not just that, but these experiments all focused on one individual, Subject-X27R4 who was held here since he was three years old." said Ice as the others looked mortified along with the others back at base watching this all go down. Silence was what overtook them, as they noticed that Ice wasn't finished just yet. Before he could continue, Clay turned around and faced the door Mitchell walked out of, as it had been shut by the Texan when he was done.

CRACK! SMASH!

The Baltimorean kicked the door with his right foot which caused it to fly off the hinges and smacked into the far wall of the office ,where it was stuck indented into the wall from the strength behind the kick.

"Continue." he said in an anger filled voice as he practically glared at the journal still in Ice's hands.

"It appears that the lead scientist, Dr. Korubar, had been trying to replicate "the gift" in someone that wasn't born with it. His office is located back near the prison area, I found a map in here as well." said Ice as he finished his briefing.

"If this bastard isn't dead yet, I'll make him regret living this long." said Clay darkly as the squad headed towards the Prison section of the facility.

* * *

== In the Prison Area ==

Entering the area, the squad saw that the death and house of horrors got doubly worse as the body count was much higher. In here, it wasn't just the scientists and soldiers slaughtered but also the other aliens and prisoners held in here. Some were lined up against the back of their cells executed, while others were dragged out by force and slaughtered in front of everyone as if it was a show.

Advancing through the dried blood and rotting corpses, the group reached the end of the area where Korubar's office was located. Opening the door, the squad saw the doctor pinned to the wall as if crucified where each of his limbs were removed from his body by precise lacerations, he was gutted, his throat was slit, his eyes were gouged out, and something else was removed and sticking out of his mouth as a makeshift gag.

"Is that his dick?" asked Jackson who looked incredibly pale.

"Yes J, it is." replied Mitchell as Jackson threw up in a corner of the room as he once again had to replace his toothpick.

"I'm running out of toothpicks. This person is one incredibly fucked up brotha."

"It was justified." said Clay coldly as he left the room with a small smirk at the justice done to the abusive doctor.

Before leaving the area, Clay had retrieved the security footage from the security office so they could take a look at it back at base.

* * *

== In the Testing Area ==

The group entered the final area of the facility and saw that it was a small room with a set of four restraints in the middle of a blank room that was coated in blood as there were four corpses in the area. Three of which were soldiers near the restraints, while the fourth was a scientist that was slumped up against the far wall with a camcorder clutched in his grasp as a look of horror was etched on his decaying face.

"This looks like the only thing worth salvaging here." said Ice as he picked the camcorder out of the body's hands as it fell lifelessly back to its chest.

"Let's move out guys we're done here. Mitchell, Kyle plant explosives around this place." ordered Ice as they started their journey back to the entrance.

"Why sir?" asked Mitchell.

"Because we don't want ADVENT coming back here and opening it back up, plus these atrocities need to be put to rest since we have the footage to air later on anyway." said Ice.

"Roger that sir." said Mitchell and Kyle as they went about their duties before regrouping outside of the facility.

"Mitchell, blow it." ordered Ice as Mitchell pressed the detonator down as the place was engulfed in an explosion as the building exploded outwards while the squad left on board Firebrand and they watched the bright colors of the fire engulf everything inside.

* * *

== Back at Base ==

The squad was greeted by a somber crowd as they handed Shen their findings as her and her team started the efforts to get the footage from both items decrypted and viewable. Clay went down to the GTS to meditate and was followed by Lockdown since it was clear that he was still pissed at what he was told about in there, Kyle retired to his room to be alone, Mitchell and Jackson both went to the bar to have a drink and calm themselves, while Ice was comforted by Dozer in their shared room.

No words needed to be spoken as everyone knew that what happened on that mission, was something that nobody thought could happen but it did. One thought went through everyone's mind: _'These bastards will pay for what they've done!'_

* * *

== The Next Day ==

Shen's team had successfully managed to decrypt both sets of footage after pulling an all-nighter. The Commander, Bradford, Shen, and the soldiers were all gathered in the Hangar to watch the footage to see what had actually happened before they got there.

The first tape that Bradford ordered to be brought up, was the footage from the camcorder that Ice salvaged in the Test area. The footage opened up in the middle of the room as three soldiers were shown restraining Subject-X27R4, who appeared to be a nine year old boy with pale skin, short black hair, dull blue eyes, and numerous scars all over his body, to the ground with the restraints as the scientist was no doubt the one holding the camcorder.

"Sir, the subject is secure." said the lead trooper in their garbled tone.

"Excellent, we can then begin the procedure to extract "the gift" from it." said the scientist with glee as he turned on the machinery to begin to try and absorb the energy from the subject.

"Will it survive this procedure?" asked one of the ordinary troopers.

"No, but it has already served its purpose quite well and is of no use to us any longer." said the scientist in a smug tone as the procedure continued as a steady stream of purple energy could be seen leaving the boy.

This process continued for a few moments, before the boy began writhing around in immense pain. He then let loose a blood-curdling scream as he spasms uncontrollably for awhile before falling deathly still as the machine powered down.

"Excellent, with this energy we can use this to make psionic clothes to combat the resistance on the frontlines. Untie this trash and dispose of it accordingly." said the scientist with what they guessed was a sneer since they couldn't see his face.

The soldiers followed orders, and removed the restraints before the boy's eyes suddenly shot open and the soldiers were lifted off the ground by a purple energy that threw them against the wall before the boy walked over and gutted all three of them leaving them to bleed out. As he turned towards the scientist, the boy's eyes were glazed over and his face showed nothing but pure rage as he stalked towards his next victim.

"No! Stay back, please! Mercy!" shouted the scientist as the camera went black as the boy lunged towards it.

"Damn." said Clay quietly as no one else said anything as the next footage was played on screen.

This footage showed the entire massacre from beginning to end as it showed the boy systematically slaughtering anything and anyone in his way before returning to the office deal with Dr. Korubar. When it was over, many people were disturbed by what they saw, but others were less affected since they saw the results up close and personal.

"This footage is from three years ago. We've managed to isolate the boy's face, and are currently running his information through the missing persons database we have made from the information that the Speaker presented to us. Once we have his identity, we'll move to bring him in and see what he wants to do, because we can't have him running loose out there for too much longer. Who knows if he'll snap again." said the Commander as he was about to dismiss everyone, before they were interrupted by Engineer Gonzalez who burst into the room looking tired and disheveled from his all-nighter.

"Sir we have a priority transmission coming in from the area outside of Rio de Janeiro!" said the Mexican native.

"Play it." ordered the Commander as the radio transmission was broadcast for everyone to hear after Gonzalez ran to the nearest terminal to activate it.

"This is Douglas Mullins, I'm pinned down by numerous ADVENT patrols outside of Rio de Janeiro! XCOM I know you can hear me, I want to join your cause as I've been on the run from these bastards for three years!" said the young voice of a child as he paused to fire off several shots from what sounded like a pistol as cries of pain were heard from soldiers.

"I'm number 4 on ADVENT's most wanted list, so it's obvious that they desperately want me back whether dead or alive! I await your arrival!" said Mullins as the transmission ended there.

"That's not all, look!" said Gonzalez as he typed something into the monitor before bringing it up on the wall via the projector that they were using earlier. The photo of Douglas Mullins, was the exact same as the boy from the video just older and little bit bigger due to putting on some weight.

"You've got to be bloody kidding me!" exclaimed Lucifer as he and everyone else immediately recognized the kid.

"You heard him, let's move out!" exclaimed Bradford as five soldiers quickly geared up and headed off to the transmission's last known location.

* * *

== On the Skyranger ==

The five soldiers selected for the mission, were all going over their last weapons' checks as they were floored at discovering that the same tortured person, Subject-X27R4, was Douglas Mullins.

"Man this is some fucked up shit." said Jensen as he pumped his shotgun to make sure it was ready to go with a scowl on his face.

"Succinctly put." agreed Clay as he put on the finishing touches of his face paint which was a large red hand print that covered his left eye with the fingers reaching up onto his forehead. (Think of the Five Finger Death Punch skull, and it's the handprint from that logo.)

"Nevertheless, we must bring him back in to us per the Commander's orders." said Dozer with her accent skewing her words slightly as she hoisted her minigun up into her lap.

"Homie's been through a lot, all we can do is get him back here safely and see how he's holding up." said Jackson as he twirled his toothpick with his tongue.

"Jackson's right, let's kill this fuckers." said Cassidy with her southern twang as her machete was drawn and poised for action.

The lights in the Skyranger changed to red, as the squad got up and moved towards the hangar door. Once it opened and the ropes fell out, the squad jumped as one and slid down the ropes into the battlefield below.

* * *

== On the Ground ==

Quickly getting their bearings, the squad had to dodge multiple blasts of magnetic rounds and plasma beams as they made their way behind some tress out of the line of fire.

Peeking around the trees they were behind, they saw numerous ADVENT bodies littering the ground as Douglas was slaughtering people left and right with a combined attack of his pistol, his psychic abilities, and his combat knife. He was quickly though becoming overwhelmed as the squad decided to help him out quickly.

Jackson started the show off with a quick headshot on an unsuspecting trooper, as ADVENT turned around to face the new threat. Cassidy and Kyle started charging towards them as Dozer launched a grenade that decimated another two troopers who were too slow to dodge.

Kyle and Cassidy then reached the crowd of soldiers and cut down two each with their machetes, before both of them blasted a third one away with their shotguns. Clay meanwhile had reached Douglas' position and was helping him mop up the five still near him by standing back-to-back with him which was impressive since Douglas was only 4' 9''.

Douglas unleashed a quick headshot from his pistol on the enemy in front of him, while Clay did the same with his M4A1. Douglas then used his psionic ability to launch a Mind Control ability at one Sectoid who put his wrist gun to his face and ended its own life due to the images it saw. The other two were dispatched when both humans turned around and threw combat knives at the enemies behind their partner's back and hit them each square in the forehead ending the Officer's lives.

With no other contacts in the immediate vicinity, the squad regrouped before calling for Firebrand to pick them up. Douglas joined them while having a happy smile on his face at the death and carnage around him which freaked out some of the others.

"Douglas, brotha why you smiling like that? It's a little creepy." said Jackson as he was scanning the area around him in case of an ambush.

"Because this was one of the most fun times I've had recently. Now leave me alone." he said in a dull and emotionless voice. Douglas still had the same scars and hair as in the video, but he was now wearing an all black outfit consisting of a black t-shirt, combat vest, combat pants, and combat boots. They also noticed a carving on his right wrist that they couldn't make out in the video, but now cleary showed his identification number (X27R4). The others decided against talking to him for the time being as they didn't want to piss him off and have him use his abilities against them.

Firebrand arrived after another five minutes as the group embarked and headed back to the Avenger with their newest addition to the XCOM ranks.

* * *

 **AN: And we have a new member joining the resistance movement, as Douglas is found after his horrifying past is discovered and XCOM opens their arms to accept him. How will he impact the war moving forward? Find out next time on "XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors." Don't forget to leave a review, favorite, and follow if you enjoyed the chapter. All comments and criticisms are welcome. Once again, this is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **-PRAK #TheNastyOne**


	16. Familiar Friends in Low Places

**AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!**

 **What's up everyone? I just wanted to precede this chapter by saying how sorry I am for disappearing for so long without so much as a message to you guys. That wasn't fair to you and nothing I say will change the hurt and or loss of interest towards this story because of that. All I can say is that I'm sorry and I'll try to update this regularly again to make up for it. Anyway, last time Douglas was rescued by XCOM after his past was brought to light by a random tip to the resistance about the hidden facility. What changes will he bring, and what will be the next adventure our favorite troops go on? Find out right now on "XCOM 2: The Resistance Saviors"!**

 **Chapter 16: Familiar Faces in Low Places**

* * *

== Back at Base ==

Firebrand returned to base carrying the now six strong squad with the newest addition of resident psi-soldier Douglas Mullins. The ride back to base itself was rather awkward for the soldiers as multiple attempts were made to converse with the newest addition but he just brushed off all of them with his cold and dismissive demeanor as if their mere existence was annoying the hell out of him.

Eventually the others gave up the effort after Clay made a comment of:

"If he doesn't want to speak to us he doesn't have to. Some people like their own personal space so stop being a bunch of jackasses and violating that right!"

This of course led to the rest of the ride being in an awkward and uneasy silence to everyone involved except for Douglas who didn't give a shit, and Clay who wasn't bothered by it in the slightest.

With the landing of the aircraft the six disembarked down the ramp and were greeted by a small amount of fanfare as the other soldiers congratulated them on their efforts. Douglas was sequestered by Bradford and taken to the Commander's Quarters to brief him on the organization and what the goals were for the foreseeable future. The others went about their routine of disassembling their weapons and cleaning them as they watched Douglas leave with Bradford.

"Alright you all saw the way little homie was acting on the flight back right?" asked Jackson as the others minus Clay nodded while he just looked on with an uninterested expression seeing the conversation as pointless.

"Well what the hell is wrong with him? Doesn't he understand that we're his comrades and we're supposed to have his back out in the field? How are we supposed to protect someone we know nothing about?!" said Jackson as he twirled his toothpick around with his tongue.

"He's right y'all the kid is like the most asocial asshole I've ever met." said Cassidy as she agreed with her friend.

"That may be Hennessey but we can't just leave the kid to his own devices." said Dozer as she knew that the kid had a hard life and wasn't going to hold that against him for how he turned out.

"Sarah's right the kid needs us to watch his back and look out for him. Show him the ropes you know." said Jensen as he wasn't overly thrilled about abandoning the poor kid and treating him like a jerk.

Seeing the eternal urinary Olympic even playing out before him. Clay stood up and was preparing to leave the room but decided to drop a last piece of advice on the group.

"Like I said earlier guys..." he started and paused to make sure everyone was paying attention before continuing.

"...The kid has been through hell and will not be open to discussing random things with us. We're all a bunch of strangers to him that he doesn't trust at all most likely due to his past treatment under Dr. Korubar. We stick by him, watch out for him, but don't pressure him to do anything he doesn't want to. Let him come around to us when he's ready. If he doesn't want us around or talking to him, then so be it we stay clear of him and only interact on missions. It's not the healthiest working relationship sure, but if that's what help us survive and thrive then so be it. Now excuse me I have some music to perform." and with his thought finished Clay exited the armory as the others were left to think over his words of wisdom.

* * *

== Commander's Quarters ==

Bradford knocked twice to signify their arrival and after hearing a quiet "Come in.", he opened the door and led Douglas inside before taking his place beside the Commander while Douglas grabbed a seat on a spare chair.

"Douglas welcome to the Resistance! I take it that your trip here was more accommodating than your past trips across the country." said the Commander as Douglas gave a slight nod but otherwise seemed uninterested in the conversation.

"Good. Now basically right now the goal of our organization is to find out how to hack into the ADVENT network and take the fight back to their operating bases. Also, we're working on tracking down some of our former soldiers that were captured by ADVENT. Is there any questions you have regarding what we're trying to do here?"

"Not particularly, I'm just here to make them suffer and find my family." said Douglas in an uncaring and loathing tone.

"Yes my contacts did say that you were captured with your parents and little sister. We're working on tracking them down because we're betting they were taken from you to another hidden facility. Once our contacts track them down we'll set up an assault to break them out for you."

"Good, it's about time this Resistance did something worthwhile in this war."

"Watch your lip son!" said Bradford as he was about ready to berate the boy more but the Commander raised his hand to silence him.

"I figured you'd have a less than ideal reaction to the war effort considering how long you were in captivity and also on the run from ADVENT in general. I'm honestly not overly surprised at your anger and loathing. Nevertheless please don't insult our efforts, it's insulting to those who've also experienced losses against these monsters."

"Whatever." said Douglas as Bradford glared at the disrespectful teenager while the Commander just sighed and moved on from the losing battle.

"Now in the meantime, I understand about the gift you posses..."

"Pfft gift!? More like a fucking curse if you ask me." interjected Douglas angrily.

"We didn't you little shit!" replied Bradford hotly.

"John! Please at least try to remain professional in front of one of our soldiers." scolded the Commander as Douglas smirked at the angry man in front of him who just turned around and took a deep breath before turning back towards the conversation.

"Anyway your abilities are far and above most of what our two current soldiers can do. So I'm going to be placing you with their work sessions to help them out with their abilities and also to help you become better acquainted with some of the other soldiers. I'll only call you out for missions where your expertise is required until you feel comfortable being around the rest of the soldiers. Sound good?"

"Meh, but it'll have to do." said Douglas as he casually looked down at the carving on his wrist and rubbed it trying to block out the memories.

"Alright then, Bradford show him to his quarters." said the Commander as Bradford nodded and led him down to a room next to Reaper, who was the ideal roommate as he tended to mind his own business, and left him to get unpacked.

* * *

== Three Days Later ==

The last three days at the base were interesting to say the least as Douglas made his presence known to the others. How he did this you might ask? Well that was by being much the same person he was on the way back from the mission. He avoided the others at all costs, brushed off any questions directed to him, and was an all around enigma to everyone. One particular action was fresh in everyone's mind as it occurred yesterday after training was done for the day.

== Flashback (Yesterday) ==

A majority of the older soldiers were surrounding the bar as they shared a drink of Deadeye's secret whiskey stash.

"I propose a toast." said Smokey as those gathered raised their glasses including Dozer, Ice, Ghost, Lockdown, and Deadeye.

"This one's for those that couldn't be here with us today." everyone bowed their heads as he then proceeded to list off the names of those fallen to the aliens.

"Endo, Sing, Dubois, Shipman, Johnny, Chris, Renegade, and Prophet. We miss all of you and hope that you guys have either found peace or are continuing to fight the good fight. To the fallen!"

"To the fallen!" chorused the others as they all simultaneously downed their shots and slammed their glasses down with authority.

"Damn this stuff is strong. Where'd you find this stuff Deadeye?" asked Ghost as the others filled up another shot.

"Made it myself. Growing up on a farm you learn to make your own alcohol." said Deadeye nonchalantly as the others nodded figuring that it made sense given he was from the backwoods of Alabama.

"What's everyone doing?" asked Douglas as the others turned to see him approach the group.

"Just sharing a shot in honor of the fallen old guard." replied Ice.

"I see. May I join you guys?" asked Douglas as the others were unsure seeing as he was a minor.

"Not sure that's a good idea Douglas. You're just a minor so you really shouldn't be having alcohol." said Smokey as the others agreed.

Douglas frowned at that, before moving faster than anyone could react down the remaining whiskey in the bottle which was three quarters full. Deadeye quickly pulled the bottle away but turned it upside down to show that it was in fact empty.

"Dude what the hell man!? That was some of my best alcohol!" shouted Deadeye.

"You really shouldn't be drinking alcohol either Douglas you're only twelve." said Dozer.

"So? I've been alone most of my life. I've grown a certain tolerance to it." said Douglas nonchalantly not seeing anything wrong with his actions.

"Douglas, that may be true but you're still just a kid. These traits you possess ranging from your hatred of the aliens, your cruelty and fascination with gore, your cold demeanor, unnecessary swearing, and your downing of alcohol shouldn't be present in someone your age." explained Smokey.

"So what!? I've seen shit that makes the stuff you've seen pale in comparison! None of you know what this fucking world has put me through, so don't sit there and judge me! You know nothing of my suffering!" he exclaimed angrily before storming off.

The others watched him go as they exchanged worried glances about him and discussed quietly amongst themselves while Deadeye went to go get another of his alcoholic stashes. Smokey meanwhile was lost deep in thought.

 _'This is kid is becoming more of a problem for us. He's either going to flip out and kill one of us by accident or he'll get us killed in the field. I need to watch out for him and protect the others as best I can.'_

== End Flashback ==

Other than Douglas' colorful antics, the base had been relatively quiet but that was all about to change as a distress signal came in from the Eastern United States.

"Sir we just got a transmission from one of the resistance havens located in a rural part of Arkansas."

"Play it." said Bradford as he and the Commander were standing by in the bridge as the voice of one of the security personnel came over the airwaves.

"This is Cpl. Maya Torres formerly of the Army Rangers 506th Battalion. Currently volunteering to provide security for outpost 'Trumbull Valley'. We're under attack by an ADVENT forces!"

She then paused to fire off multiple rounds at an unseen target as a scream was heard from beside her.

"Winters is down! Get him back behind cover!" she ordered as she provided covering fire.

"Sarge we got to move!" she yelled before turning back to the recorder.

"Hurry we're running out of time. Torres out." she said as the transmission was cut abruptly by her severing the connection.

"Assemble a team John. We're going to stop this retaliation before it gets too far out of hand." ordered the Commander as Bradford left to select a team for the mission.

* * *

== On the Skyranger ==

Bradford wasn't taking any chances with this mission as he selected four of the veterans to undertake the mission and also assigned Douglas to the mission to see how well the newest Squaddie would handle himself in the presence of the older heads.

"Alright listen up!" said Smokey as the others quieted down sans Douglas who was already silent and looking bored out of his mind.

"We have human soldiers on the ground trying to hold back the alien attack and need our help ASAP. Mission parameters will be immediate assistance to them and rendering first aid while the rest of us move in to secure the haven and eliminate any hostiles that snuck by. Watch out for Faceless they will be hiding in plain sight. Douglas you'll help Ghost set up an Overwatch position before joining us in the assault on the haven."

Douglas rolled his eyes, but nodded as Ghost gave Smokey and okay signal while still listening to his music.

"Doc you'll be providing first aid to the soldiers and remaining behind to watch the rear while we move in. Lockdown you're with me leading the charge into the site. Any questions?"

No one said anything as the red light came on as they moved towards the exit ramp as the fast ropes descended down towards the Earth.

"Alright let's go!" he ordered as the five dropped into the middle of chaos.

* * *

== On the Ground ==

The five landed and immediately went prone as plasma bolts, magnetic rounds, and regular bullets whizzed past them overhead. The five were pinned down as they landed in a no man's land of sorts seeing as they were in a wide open field between two patches of forest.

"Everybody stay down!" exclaimed Smokey as he threw up a barrier using his gift towards their front as the plasma bolts and magnetic rounds bounced off of it. Noticing the bullets stopped firing turned around and saw a female exiting the tree line. She was of Hispanic descent and stood at 5' 8'' with black hair pulled back into a simple ponytail under standard issue Army fatigues. She was holding a M4A1 assault rifle accompanied with a 4x telescopic sight and an under barrel shotgun.

"What are you guys staring at?! Get over here before they start firing again." she exclaimed rather annoyed as the group took off for the tree line as the barrier fell due to the continued barrage and the group dodged shot after shot as they dove into the tree line as the shots ceased for the most part with a few potshots here and there.

"That was too close." said Lockdown as the others agreed sans Douglas who ignored them for the most part.

Noticing the state of the squad they'd liberated, Doc and Scooter got to work on Winters who was suffering from a lower leg wound.

"Thanks for showing up so quickly. Who's in charge?" asked the female as Smokey stepped forward.

"Sgt. Jesus 'Smokey' Rodriguez Sr. at your service. You must be Cpl. Torres." he introduced.

"You'd be correct, guy getting patched up is Pfc. K.C. Winters."

Winters was a rather large Caucasian male standing at 6' 7'' and was built like a professional linebacker with a tradition army crew cut. He was muscled beyond belief and he had to be to carry the SAW that was currently laying beside him still smoking from being discharged so much.

"Hello." he said and waved as Scooter was finishing up applying the gel and Doc was placing a fresh bandage over it.

"Stay off of it for a few minutes and you should be good to go." said Doc as Winters nodded.

"Thanks Doc."

"The short man back there is Sgt. Erik Tan."

Tan was a rather stout at 5' 7'' and had short black hair styled down in a buzz cut. He was rather muscled though despite his short size.

"I may be short, but I pack a mean punch." said Tan confidently before going into a bad coughing fit.

"You okay?" asked Ghost.

"I'm fine. Had worse after I learned to say red light district in German." said Tan as the others ignored that last comment.

"And the big bearded man up in the tree is Pvt. Mickey Wilkerson." she said pointing to the man with a SKS propped against a tree branch ten feet above the ground as he was using the tree trunk to support his sitting position. Said man was 6' 3'' and was decently muscled for working on a moonshine farm for most of his life. He was wearing the standard army combat pants, but had a white t-shirt on under an opened red flannel shirt. He also sported a gray beanie with tufts of his brown hair poking out the back and just touching his shoulders. He also had a brown goatee and moustache combination.

"We got a whole mess of them fuckers working their way over here. Looks like we got a few minutes though." said the farmer as he looked down at the group with a calculating eye.

"Nice to meet your team. Allow me to introduce mine: first up we have the man in the blue armor with the sniper rifle perched on his shoulders, my second in command Sgt. Eric "Ghost" Roberts."

"Sup people."

"Next up is Cpl. Isabella "Lockdown" Maroni our close quarters specialist." said Smokey as said person nodded and waved with her machete.

"The man in yellow is our resident medical expert Sgt. James "Doc" Watkins."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, oh and this little guy is my drone Scooter." he said as the drone flew around his head and simulated the motion of waving with its wing.

"And lastly is our newest recruit, the kid, Sq. Douglas Mullins." said Smokey as he turned to where Douglas was last standing but found him missing.

"Where's Douglas?" asked Smokey as the others shrugged but Wilkerson spoke up.

"Umm looks like he's charging the aliens position on his own." he replied as he sent a round downrange that struck a trooper in the brain killing it instantly.

"Covering fire!" shouted Smokey as Lockdown, Tan and Doc advanced towards Mullins' position.

Douglas was having the time of his life as he was dodging and weaving through enemy attacks like he was an ice skater. After a rather smooth pirouette, he pulled out his M9 semi-auto pistol and pumped five shots into one trooper before swinging his arm around and dropped an officer with a point blank headshot. He then used his ability to launch a mind control attack at an unsuspecting Sectoid that turned it's blaster on another trooper and dropped her before turning the gun on itself and ending its own life.

Surveying the damage around him, Douglas could only smile sadistically at the carnage before letting out a boisterous laugh that creped the others out.

"Ha Ha I've never felt so alive. You fuckers had no damn chance of taking me down." he laughed as the others reached his position.

"What the hell were you doing Douglas!? You could've been killed!" exclaimed Lockdown as the rest of the two units joined them.

"But I didn't so buzz off. Also I was doing my fucking job while you were back there talking about your feelings instead of taking the fight to these bastards! Let me know what the plan is, I'll be waiting by that tree." he said as he walked off and sat down a little away from the group.

The local resistance turned to Smokey with their eyebrows raised.

"He's a work in progress, anyway let's move in and secure this town." With that spoken, the two teams advanced towards the town's southern entrance.

* * *

== A Few Minutes Later ==

The group of nine stopped just outside the southern entrance as they noticed the gate that was once securing it was now laying on the ground in a twisted heap. The claw marks on the gate gave away what creature most likely had done the damage.

"Mutons. Looks like they've brought out the shock troopers." said Ghost as he surveyed the damage before them. He then turned towards Smokey as he had a brain wave.

"Smokey you don't think they brought Johnny and Chris out here do you?" he asked as Smokey stroked his moustache in thought.

"It's possible, those two were always the strongest of their family members." he replied as Winters spoke up.

"Who're Johnny and Chris?" he asked quizzically as he scratched the back of his head.

"They were two of our former squadmates from the first war. They were Mutons who defected from the Ravagers' forces after Johnny was used as a human body shield and Ghost saved his life. They and their loyal brethren were significant in helping turn the tide but were reenslaved a few years ago when they were discovered by ADVENT. We need those two alive as they'll more than likely want payback against their captors."

"Wow that's heavy." said Winters as the others nodded sans Douglas who was pissed at that last statement.

"What! You guys had aliens from ADVENT fighting alongside you? That's despicable and wrong on so many levels!" he exclaimed. He would've said more if the cocking of a Magnum wasn't heard next to his right ear and cold steel pressed against his temple.

"Those may be your thoughts on the matter Douglas, but the fact remains they're our friends, allies and family. Insulting them is like insulting the rest of us. So if I were you I'd watch your lip before I plaster your brains all over the trees." said Ghost in a dark tone as the others were undoubtedly shocked at the carefree sniper being deadly serious.

"Stand down Ghost!" ordered Smokey as the sniper begrudgingly stood down and holstered his weapon before turning his attention to the area in front of the squad awaiting the order to move forward.

"Douglas do us all a favor and shut up for the rest of the mission. Let's move out and stay evenly spaced, I don't want all of us going down to a good grenade or rocket attack. Ghost and Wilkerson find a vantage point and help take out some soldiers when they enter your line of sight. Doc and Tan provide support with Winters since he's still recovering. Lockdown and Torres you're with me and Douglas as we secure the town. Let's move out!" he said as the team entered the town.

* * *

== With the Snipers ==

Ghost and Wilkerson managed to scale a cliff face on the left side of town after entering the gate. The two were currently using an overturned log as a base for their rifles as they carefully aimed their scopes towards the center of town where two squads of ADVENT had civilians lined up on their knees as if they were awaiting an execution.

"Well this isn't good." said Wilkerson as he had his scope fully calibrated and ready.

"Yep just wait to fire. We don't want to ruin the others' approach and get them spotted ahead of time." said Ghost as the two patiently waited for the command to strike.

* * *

== With the Assault team ==

The team of four had reached the edge of the town square to see the civilian on the far east end of the line get a magnetic round to the skull as they fell over backward from the force of the shot. The other civilians started screaming as the Officer in charge fired in the air to shut them up. He then motioned to the Lancer standing next to him as he pulled out his baton and charged it up.

The remaining civilians eyes widened in fear as he slowly stalked towards him. However, before he was two steps away, a shotgun blast tore into his back as he flew to his right and landed in the dirt unmoving. The Officer spun around and met the same fate courtesy of Torres' shotgun attachment. With that signal, the other squad of ADVENT consisting of a Viper, a MEC, and another Lancer charged forward, but the Viper was felled by two sniper rounds courtesy of Ghost and Wilkerson.

The MEC kneeled down to fire it's back rockets, but was met by multiple machine gun rounds courtesy of Smokey and Winters. The Lancer went down quickly thanks to Douglas' assault rifle rounds as he ended him with a shot to the heart. With the area secured, the team advanced to the civilians, but was met with the middle two both turning into Faceless. The group prepared to fire, when shots rang out from the back as one of the Faceless fell over dead courtesy of Tan and Doc. The other was taken down again by the Snipers as the area was dead silent.

"Stay frosty people, I don't like this." said Lockdown as the group remained vigilant while telling the civilians to run towards Firebrand. The group took cover inside of city hall as no sooner did they do so then another patrol appear.

Amongst it were an Officer, a Trooper, and two Mutons. The two Mutons were extremely muscular and had heavy plasma rifles, but the thing that stood out about the two were the C4 explosives they were carrying and also the lack of respirators on them. Not to mention the taller of the two had a pair of dog tags around his neck that jingled with each step he took.

"O my God! Johnny! Chris!" exclaimed Ghost through the radio as he recognized the two instantly through his scope. The other thing that the group noticed about the two was that both had black shock collars around their necks similar to ones dogs would wear.

The group observed as the Officer ordered Chris to shoot up the city hall as she noticed the footsteps the group had left in their haste to hide. Chris stood his ground and shook his head before exclaiming a simple "NO!" towards her.

The officer stomped her foot before pressing a button on her left wrist that sent a command to the collar and started shocking Chris uncontrollably. Johnny stepped forward to help his brother but got a gun butt to the back of his head before also being shocked as the trooper pressed the button on his left wrist as well.

The group watched with horror as there wasn't anything they could do to help. They felt helpless and powerless as they watched two allies suffer unnecessarily.

 _'We can't just sit here and do nothing we need to distract them somehow...wait a minute that's it! If we overload the collar with psionic energy, it might just be enough to cause it to short circuit and give those two a chance to fuck their captors up. I'll need Douglas to do it though, he's got better strength and control for this kind of finesse attack.'_ thought Smokey as he got Mullins' attention.

"Douglas I need you to help those two out. Use your ability to overload the circuitry in their collars and allow them to break free and put their captors down." he said as Douglas glared at him for a moment.

After that moment past, the kid shrugged his shoulders and sent out a wave of energy that hit the two collars dead on. The two ADVENT personnel watched in horror as the two collars sparked uncontrollably and then eventually spat out black smoke and died before breaking completely due to the strain put on them.

The two Mutons felt the collars fall and glared evilly up at their tormentors.

"O this is going to be sweet!" said Johnny as he took his rifle and jammed the bayonet attached to it into the trooper's stomach as he gutted him and watch as he feebly fought to keep the organs in before they spilled out onto the ground and he fell over dead. Chris then chased down the fleeing officer before breaking both her legs and tying her to the empty flagpole in the middle of the square. He took out a block of C4 and molded it to his liking before placing the tiny square in the officer's hand and raised her palm up five inches above her head before tying the square to a tripwire and running that wire up through one of the rungs and back down and tied that to a detonator that would go off if the officer's hand fell more than two inches.

"Hope you did your arm exercises today, otherwise you'll be nothing more than blood and guts on the bottom of my feet. Adios bitch!" he said as he walked away and heard the officer pleading for him to turn back around and free her that instant.

The two aliens then reached the group and bowed to them as the area was just secured by the team.

"Thank you for rescuing us. Smokey we once again owe you and your team our eternal thanks for saving our asses again." said Johnny as Chris nodded along.

"No problem boys, what you say to coming home and helping us win another war?" he asked as the two looked at each other and nodded before standing up and raising their fists to the sky.

"The brothers of destruction are back!" exclaimed Chris as the two then high-fived before preparing to leave with Smokey's team.

"Smokey wait!" said Tan as the team turned back to them.

"What would you say to the four of us joining you? No freeloaders here, we'll fight for you. We just don't want to stay here since everything is basically destroyed and you guys seem to know what the hell you're doing out here in this war." said Tan as the other three nodded along with every line spoken.

The group turned in and discussed with one another, before turning back and Smokey stuck out his right hand for Tan.

"Welcome to XCOM soldier." said Smokey as Tan gripped the hand and gave it a firm shake before the group followed them back to Firebrand while stopping at the barracks to pick up what was left of their equipment and personal effects.

* * *

== On the Skyranger ==

Spitfire's Chinook which had come to pick up the civilians due to the lack of room on the Skyranger. Said aircraft was getting ready to lift off as the pilot was completing her last round of checks on the bird to make sure it was airworthy with the additional weight of four extra soldiers and two Mutons. The group of eleven were busy relaxing in the cramped cargo hold as Ghost was excitedly conversing with his old friends. He damn near broke down in tears after seeing them for the first time since their kidnappings all their years ago. The pilot was about to take off, but before they could a scream was heard in the distance before an explosion rocked the area as a big plume of smoke and flames extended into the sky from the center of town.

"Damn that was awesome!" exclaimed Ghost as he high-fived Chris and asked him how much power did he put in the C4. Chris just shrugged and the group laughed as the Skyranger took off back to base.

* * *

 **AN: And cut! That's a wrap on this chapter, which took entirely too long for me to write in my opinion. Over a year and a quarter since the last update that is just sad. Once again guys and gals I cannot express how deeply sorry I am for making you wait so long for this update. Please if anyone is still reading please leave a favorite, follow, and a review to let me know what you think of the story. Or hell just drop a review letting me know how bad of a person I am for making you wait so long, I know I deserve it. Anyway I'll catch you all in the next one. This is "The Nasty One" signing off.**

 **\- PRAK #TheNastyOne**


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